The 70's and Thatcher

[Brian Marwood]

To unload a container of bagged products now you will typically have four men doing the handling and that is it.

Under the NDLB during the 70's and into the 80's until it was abolished, you would have six men carrying bags, a tally man, a sampler, a repair man and a foreman.

The tally man was sat in a deckchair counting the number bags.
The sampler would wait until the container was finished and spend 2 minutes taking a sample.
The repair man would no nothing if there nothing to be repaired.
The foreman just stood and watched everything.

If either the tally man, sampler, repairman or foreman didn't turn up for work the container couldn't be unloaded but all men would get full pay. They would come back the next day and get another full days pay.

They would have a maximum number of containers they could unload per day which meant a finish by 1pm.

This was the extreme of unionised output -10 men doing half a day instead of four doing a full day.

 

[mercury_redstone7]

Growing up in the 1960s and1970s was great time to be alive, as a kid I enjoyed virtually every single day.

 

[Derby_Red]

To unload a container of bagged products now you will typically have four men doing the handling and that is it.

Under the NDLB during the 70's and into the 80's until it was abolished, you would have six men carrying bags, a tally man, a sampler, a repair man and a foreman.

The tally man was sat in a deckchair counting the number bags.
The sampler would wait until the container was finished and spend 2 minutes taking a sample.
The repair man would no nothing if there nothing to be repaired.
The foreman just stood and watched everything.

If either the tally man, sampler, repairman or foreman didn't turn up for work the container couldn't be unloaded but all men would get full pay. They would come back the next day and get another full days pay.

They would have a maximum number of containers they could unload per day which meant a finish by 1pm.

This was the extreme of unionised output -10 men doing half a day instead of four doing a full day.

Again, decent management should deal with this. Not sure this is how Toyota Derby do things

 

[Norfolkred1]

Again, decent management should deal with this. Not sure this is how Toyota Derby do things

Where my nephew works.

 

[Keelo]

Me and a pal holding a banner in Hyde park before we set off for Trafalgar Square on a march for jobs against the witch Thatcher's government with hundreds of thousands of others....we travelled down overnight with a coach full of CEU union members

 

[Brian Marwood]

Again, decent management should deal with this. Not sure this is how Toyota Derby do things

These were the NDLB rules and nothing the management could do anything about, much to the very annoyance of my then Managing Director.

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

To unload a container of bagged products now you will typically have four men doing the handling and that is it.

Under the NDLB during the 70's and into the 80's until it was abolished, you would have six men carrying bags, a tally man, a sampler, a repair man and a foreman.

The tally man was sat in a deckchair counting the number bags.
The sampler would wait until the container was finished and spend 2 minutes taking a sample.
The repair man would no nothing if there nothing to be repaired.
The foreman just stood and watched everything.

If either the tally man, sampler, repairman or foreman didn't turn up for work the container couldn't be unloaded but all men would get full pay. They would come back the next day and get another full days pay.

They would have a maximum number of containers they could unload per day which meant a finish by 1pm.

This was the extreme of unionised output -10 men doing half a day instead of four doing a full day.

Working for an employer who put even less hours in?

And took the lion's share of the wealth created.

 

[mercury_redstone7]

Me and a pal holding a banner in Hyde park before we set off for Trafalgar Square on a march for jobs against the witch Thatcher's government with hundreds of thousands of others....we travelled down overnight with a coach full of CEU union membersView attachment 72043

Was in the CU for years, great banner that and well done.

 

[Derby_Red]

These were the NDLB rules and nothing the management could do anything about, much to the very annoyance of my then Managing Director.

Easier to change the rules than to let some despot destroy the whole industrial base of the nation? Toughy.

Weak as p!ss management.

 

[Lefty]

This is a really good read and gives a lot of context about what was happening in the 1970's & 1980's in the UK.

Seems a bit light on details to me.

 

[The_Lizards_Jumpers]

Seems a bit light on details to me.

Edited

 

[Johnny Vincents Motorbike]

This was the extreme of unionised management out on the golf course and too idle to manage output -10 men doing half a day instead of four doing a full day.

The NDLB was an agreed negotiated agreement - Nothing militant or extreme in that, would you not agree?.

i've corrected your last line.

 

[Jedi boro]

She did what the luftwaffe couldn’t

 

[Derby_Red]

The NDLB was an agreed negotiated agreement - Nothing militant or extreme in that, would you not agree?.

i've corrected your last line.

Just as I thought. Entirely renegotiable.

If the management could be bothered.

 

[Ex Footy Legs]

I remember that time and in my opinion, Thatcher offered one of the Tories infamous ‘solutions’ - tame the unions and shut down inefficient nationalised industries and all your problems will be solved. She was pushing the free market.

She was in big trouble in her first term though but the nationalism surrounding ‘teaching the Argies a lesson’ in the Falklands gave her the boost she needed to win the next election.

No matter what die hard Tories try to say she was a national disaster on a historic scale.

And therefore, the old adage applies, better be lucky than talented and she was lucky that the falklands fell into her lap and she used it to good effect and the rest is history….
The English electorate fell for it and still do…’.it’. Being the Tories lies, manipulation and half truths to suit their agenda

 

[Blf]

It was bad. I was a steward for the EEPTU in the steelworks under Thatcher. The feeling was quite militant in most unions during Thatchers years. Couldn't really control the Sparkies, they were out the door at the drop of a hat. Particularly if it was early enough for an afternoon at the pub.

 

[Rofesleg]

During the winter of discontent in 1978, Prime Minister James Callaghan was on a short holiday in Barbados. On his return he refused to acknowledge there was a problem, blaming the press for exaggerating. He tried to express it from the point of view of other world leaders that he had met at a summit before his break.
The Sun paraphrased it as 'Crisis, what crisis?' alongside his photo.
A week later Thatcher aired a Party Political Broadcast in which she basically said she recognised that there was a crisis even if Labour refused to accept it.
There was no coming back from that for Labour.

 

[Johnny Vincents Motorbike]

Couldn't really control the Sparkies, they were out the door at the drop of a hat.

and look at their industrial power now ! - massive - not to mention their hourly Trade Union agreed rates of remuneration ..power, fought for every generation and every step of the way - otherwise, the working class go backwards in freedom, opportunities and life expectancy.

always show solidarity with workers in dispute - united we stand, alone we beg.

 

[Centralscrutinizer]

I don’t know if you’re into podcasts, but I really like The Rest is History, they happen to be doing a 4 part special on 1974 at the moment. If you want context on rampant inflation, trade unions, Ted Heath, Wilson, North Ireland, it’s a great listen, and you can see how the ground is laid for Thatcher.

Just listening to the first part. Really good + wasn't expecting it to be quite funny as well.

 

[r00fie1]