1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike: A Turning Point in Labor History

The 1971 United Kingdom postal workers strike was a pivotal moment in labor history. It was the first national postal strike in the country's history.

The strike was called in response to a 9% pay cut imposed by the government, which was seen as a significant blow to postal workers' already modest wages. The workers were not just fighting for their own pay, but also for the future of their industry.

The strike lasted for 47 days, with postal workers refusing to deliver mail and packages. This had a significant impact on businesses and individuals across the country, who relied on the postal service for communication and commerce.

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The strike was a major disruption to postal services across Britain, with 210,000 members of the Union of Post Office Workers stopping work for seven weeks in support of a claim for a 15 per cent pay rise.

The strike began on January 20, and mail deliveries and collections were suspended from that night, with no alarm calls, fixed-time calls, or directory enquiry service available.

People were forced to write to newspapers to complain about the strike's impact, highlighting the severity of the disruption.

On January 27, Tom Jackson, UPW general secretary, predicted that the strike would "really begin to hurt during the next seven days", which proved to be the case.

Four 'renegade' postmen in Dunfermline started a local delivery service, showing the determination of some workers to continue providing a service despite the strike.

The strike was marked by a huge backlog of 11 million mail items, which workers began to tackle on March 8 after the strike was resolved.