Barbican building dispute, 1967

Between 1965-1967, there were a series of disputes on Myton Ltd's Barbican redevelopment site in the City of London. Following several dismissals, there was a thirteen-month lock-out and strike of all workers October 1966 - November 1967. The strike centred on disputes about bonus payments for various crafts, but also on issues related to sub-contracted casual workers on the 'lump'. In March, union officials agreed to a return to work of all except the works committee, but other workers would not return without them and the unofficial strike continued. The chief convenor, Lou Lewis, was expelled from his union, the Amalgamated Society of Woodworkers. After Myton dismissed the whole workforce and attempted to bring in new recruited labour through the picket line in April, the mood rapidly became more bitter and throughout the following months violence sporadically flared between pickets and police. The strike ended in November 1967 with the re-employment of most strikers. However, Myton's refused to re-employ six members of the Workers Committee, including Lou Lewis, who were then blacklisted in the industry.

This full page advert appeared in the national press in October 1967, condemning the strike as unofficial. The advert is reproduced in 'The lump: an heretical analysis' by Dave Lamb, Solidarity 1974

Title Barbican building dispute, 1967
Maker Trades Union Congress
Production Date 1967
Format Newspaper
Copyright UCATT and UNITE
Holding Institution TUC Library Collections, London Metropolitan University
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