The Wapping Dispute and Labour Law

Abstract

A decade ago the conflict between George Ward, proprietor of Grunwick Processing, and the Association of Professional, Executive Clerical and Computer Staff (APEX) provided a platform for an extended debate about the role of the law in industrial relations, the right of employers to refuse to recognise trade unions for collective bargaining purposes and, in particular, the efficacy of legislation as a means of promoting such recognition. In 1986 the decision to move the printing of various newspapers within the News International Group (the chairman of which is Mr. Rupert Murdoch) from Fleet Street to a new purpose-built printing plant at Wapping in London's docklands occasioned another set-piece battle between labour and a strong-minded employer. The issues and the climate of industrial relations in which the dispute took place are very different but, like Grunwick, the Wapping dispute provides rich material for all interested in how the law can be used as part of the strategy of industrial conflict.

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