In July 1978, the Labour Government introduced a new guideline for pay rises of 5%. The TUC voted on 26 July to reject the limit and insist on a return to free collective bargaining. Although the government did not make the 5% limit a legal requirement, it decided to impose sanctions on government contractors who broke the limit.

On 22 January, 1979 public sector unions held a "Day of Action", in which they held a 24-hour strike and marched to demand a £60 per week minimum wage. Many workers stayed out indefinitely after that day. This photograph shows dustmen and street cleaners standing around a brazier on a National Union of Public Employees picket line in a refuse disposal depot in Southwark, London. The local authority workers dispute was settled on February 21 with an 11% increase plus £1 per week.

Title	NUPE picket, 1979
Maker	Trades Union Congress
Production Date	1979
Format	Photograph
Copyright	--
Holding Institution	TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
Related Objects	Road sweepers' strike - Lambeth, 1979