Esoteric London

Window sticker, Smithfield Market, Charterhouse Street, London, EC1. Photo © Roger Dean 2010

Wikipedia entry, Wapping dispute:

The Wapping dispute was a significant turning point in the history of the trade union movement and of UK industrial relations. It started on 24 January 1986 when some 6,000 newspaper workers went on strike after protracted negotiation with their employers, News International (chaired by Rupert Murdoch). News International had built and clandestinely equipped a new printing plant for all its titles in Wapping, and when the print unions announced a strike it activated this new plant with the assistance of the Electrical, Electronic, Telecommunications and Plumbing Union.

News International’s strategy in Wapping had strong government support, and enjoyed almost full production and distribution capabilities and a complement of leading journalists. The company was therefore content to allow the dispute to run its course. With thousands of workers having gone for over a year without jobs or pay, the strike eventually collapsed on 5 February 1987.

People in Wapping were largely viewed by the police as sympathetic to the strikers, and were frequently denied access to their streets and homes. The strike also coincided with the redevelopment of the Docklands and saw the end of the traditional association of the area with the Labour Movement. By 1988, nearly all the national newspapers had abandoned Fleet Street to relocate in the Docklands, and had begun to change their printing practices to those being employed by News International.

See also: post N0. 47