On a June morning in 1984, one of the most violent episodes in British industrial relations unfolded. 5000 striking miners gathered at the Orgeave Coke processing plant in South Yorkshire. They'd face an assault by some 6000 police.

"Thatcher and her cronies decided to try and smash the trade union movement and they organised set pieces in order to do that." 

As police and picketers clashed. John Hendy, now Lord Hendy KC was a legal rep for the National Union of Miners. 

Len McCluskey, later head of Unite the Union, was a full time official. 

"The miners have a special place in the heart of ordinary working people. And once they were defeated, it was really, really bleak." 

In this episode, Justice for Grenfell co-founder Yvette Williams explores how the 80s changed the face of British trade unions.

Introduced by Ardent Theatre Company Creative Director Andrew Muir.

In this Episode:

1:35 - The Dunnes Store strike as viewed from the UK

5:47 - The unions fail to properly resist the attacks against them

9:51 - Company closures and the tactics of resistance

13:10 - The Conservatives learn from their defeats of the 1970s

14:03 - How the Unions intersected with other movements

16:15 - The international face of British trade unions

19:53 - Restrictions imposed on unions and their legacy today

26:36 - An alternative vision of labour laws

29:36 - The power of working class solidarity

Activism in the 80s is a Creative Kin production for Ardent Theatre Company.

Executive Producer & Producer: Jason Caffrey

Production music: Ellie Parker

Mixing and Mastering: Adam Double

This production has been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Links:

https://www.ardenttheatre.co.uk/strike-about

https://www.creativekin.co.uk/

https://www.heritagefund.org.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Len_McCluskey

https://www.ier.org.uk/blog-author/john-hendy-qc/

https://www.ier.org.uk/blog-author/yvette-williams-mbe/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Orgreave

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatcherism#:~:text=Thatcherism%20represents%20a%20systematic%2C%20decisive,regulation%20of%20the%20British%20economy

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-caffrey/

https://www.ardenttheatre.co.uk/andrew-muir

http://www.adamdouble.com/about

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-parker-9ba9aa195/