Unions commemorate “the Battle of Saltley Gates”
10 February 2012
Unite commemorates the events of forty years ago when the
trade union movement won a tremendous victory in what is now known
as “the Battle of Saltley Gates”.
At the time, the National Union of Mineworkers was in the
middle of a national strike against the then Conservative
government’s pay restraint policies. The NUM had been picketing the
Saltley Coke Works in Birmingham in the face of an aggressive and
large police presence from the West Midlands Constabulary.
Speaking at a rally today (Friday, 10 February), Tony Burke,
Unite assistant general secretary, will say: “This was a tremendous
victory, not just for the NUM, but also for the whole trade union
movement. This showed that when workers stand together, as the
brave workers did 40 years ago, industrial disputes can be
won.”
Drawing a parallel with the current situation, Tony Burke
added: “Forty years on, hundreds of thousands of workers in the
public services are faced with pay restraint, cuts to their
pensions and job losses. Construction workers are also under attack
by employers who are seeking to scrap their national agreements and
impose new contracts.
“That is why it is vital that workers get the full support of
the trade union movement to defend their hard won pay and
conditions and fight back against these austerity measures and
greedy bosses.”
ENDS
For further information contact Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite
Press Office on 020 3371 2061 or 07980 224761.
