The British Printers’ 40-Hour-Week Strike of 1959: Background, Dispute, and Aftermath

The 1959 printing workers’ strike for the 40-hour week led to them winning that iconic demand which then spread to other manual workers. This success was all the more remarkable as the printing industry was riven by union ‘wage autonomy’ and craft divisions. The unity of the print unions’ federation allowed it to sustain a seven-week strike. The print employers’ long-standing concern had been labour supply, particularly apprentice numbers. This figured prominently in 1959, along with ‘efficiency’ measures, codified in a twenty-two-point list. The terms agreed were generally ‘permissive rather than mandatory’ and the employers would keep returning to this agenda over subsequent decades. The unions would not accept arbitration in such complex talks: two sets of pay negotiations (craft and non-craft), individual unions’ ‘domestic’ claims, and their federation leading on working time. When a related dispute at printing-ink manufacturers threatened national newspaper production, the Ministry of Labour appointed an independent chair to advise on discussions for a negotiated settlement in the printing strike. The twists and turns of this arrangement and the return to work are outlined.