British steel | Industrial action | Strikes | Britain in the 80s | British industry | TV Eye | 1980

As the Steel unions work out a new peace formula to end the strike now in its tenth week, they also plan to toughen up picketing measures against the steel corporation.
Tonight on ‘TV Eye’ for the first time on television, face to face Sir.Charles Villiers chairman of the British Steel corporation and Still workers leader Bill Sirs - who must be worried that the enthusiasm for the strike among his rank and file membership may begin to evaporate
Interviewer: LLEW GARDNER
First shown: 06/03/1980
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Quote: VT22523

[@silenthunteruk]

An inquiry recommended 16% with productivity and working practice changes; the unions accepted this. However, there would be reductions in hours in South Wales and the closure of the plant in Consett later that year.

[@briansparks8528]

Yes I remember the days before bots and ai which now run mass production 24/7

[@tcpnetworks]

British Steel - a Chinese business.

[@hippopotomonstrosesquipped8362]

Is it?

[@Jim-ok9zi]

The reality is even today industry’s thru out the western world have been decimated by competition
From country’s that only pay there workers a fraction of what is being payed in developed countries. not to mention the ridicules regulations thought up by some bureaucrat.
Over the last 40 years there has been this massive transfer of wealth from the developed world to the developing world which has left massive rust belts in western world and lost jobs
This is partially the fault of western consumers by continually wanting cheaper items they buy
In the case or Britain how many people would pay 30% to 40% more for a television that was made in Britain.
Probably not many.
Same thing with steel
It’s a never ending race to the bottom.
Eventually the skilled workers in the western world will be the losers.

[@keithmartin1328]

You've hit the nail on the head. I, like most britons, have mostly imported goods in the home.

[@heiltd1286]

COUNTRIES not COUNTRY'S. There's no apostrophe 's' in plurals in English. This is pretty basic not rocket science. THEIR workers not THERE workers. Again this is basic English.

[@stevezodiac491]

I was in that strike, forced into it by our union ISTC. While I was on strike in 1979, I initially thought that the unions were correct but analysing it the unions were completely out of control, power mad and wanting more and more money, for doing less and less. People were walking about in the steelworks, doing nothing all day apart from socialising. You could only be sacked for doing somebody else's job. Productivity was down the pan and industry could not compete internationally. Then came Thatcher and Mc Greggor her hatchet man and firstly in steel, then the miners, then others, the unions were rightly tamed. From then on, managers could manage and the politicians decided national policy and not the unions. Thatcher took away the title of the UK, as being the sick man of Europe and justifyably so. We could do with another Thatcher now.

[@moran68]

Nothing changes.

[@andyclark1426]

Funny how change means that the sharp end workers loose out but the office staff and management never loose out

[@volvos60bloke]

Happy days we are going back to after Brexit! No trade deals! Strikes! YAY!

[@chrisclarke4541]

Nationalise All steel plants and build more.

[@hippopotomonstrosesquipped8362]

Did they settle

[@maxsager139]

As always, employers believe that people should work for them for free.

[@matthewcoombs3282]

The workers were being blamed for poor productivity that was mainly due to poor management and lack of investment in plant equipment. Tonnage of steel per worker was 25% of that of a steel worker from Japan and Germany but , that was not because UK workers were lazy or more idle. Sir Charles Villiers in this clip by linking pay to productivity is implicitly implying it is. Years of poor planning and chronic under-investment were to blame, the same story for many UK industrial sectors post 1945.

[@stevezodiac491]

​@@matthewcoombs3282I worked in the Steel Industry for 35 years after 1975. in that period around the strike, we had vast over manning and people walking about with nothing to do, socialising with other workers for 90% of the day. Managers could not do anything without the OK of the union, it was a joke. BSC was an extention of the dole queue to hide unemployment figures. On Teesside the largest Blast Furnace in Europe was built around that time also, hardly an indication of a lack of investment