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Margaret Thatcher - The 1980 Steel Strike

The excerpt is from Margaret Thatcher's memoirs. Thatcher was the leader of the Tory party and also Prime Minister of Great Britain between 1975 and 1990. These memoirs are from this period f her life. Thatcher published her memoirs in 1993, shortly after the end of her roll as Prime Minister. Thatcher's memoirs were written for the public at large and try to explain her thought and reasons without being apologetic.

In the excerpt, Thatcher speaks of the 1980 Steel Strike and the government's efforts at trade union reform. Thatcher partly blames the steel industries problems on "overambitious policies of state intervention". (393) The BSC (British Steel Corporation) is sited as an example of the bad combination of state ownership and trade unionism. Thatcher justifies her statement by explaining a situation in 1979 where a manning dispute between unions delayed the opening of a new deep-water jetty for 5 months. This was only the beginning of the problems for the BSC. Thatcher goes on to tell that even though the recession left a "huge international overcapasity in steel" (394) the problem with the BSC was its inability to compete with its European competitors, who could produce steel twice as fast. Thatcher knew that changes in the steel industry and unionism could lead to strike, but to maintain the status quo would be a "worse alternative". (394) By the end of 1979, the BSC announced it would have to lay off 52,000 people. Thatcher became more involved by chairing meetings to follow the steel industry situation and to decide what action should be taken. Thatcher believed that the offer made by the BSC was unclear to the workers and that the ISTC (Iron and Steel Trade Confederation) was more concerned with pay settlements than the "bleak commercial realities of the industry". (394) Thatcher informed the leaders of the ISTC and NUB that the government would not become involved, she did offer her support to the BSC later the same day. The union continued to ask for unrealistic pay increases and a strike was inevitable.

During the strike, British companies were still receiving steel, even though the union was trying to prevent this. The strike was doomed to fail. At a meeting in April 1980, Thatcher was informed that a settlement was agreed upon and the BSC plants were operating at 95% output. The settlement in Thatcher's eyes was "generally seen as a victory for the government". (395) Thatcher claims this as a victory for the "well-being of the country as a whole" (395) and rightly so since taxpayers had been funding the company (3 billion pound in 1979 and 1980).

The second section of the excerpt discusses Thatcher's resolve to reform trade union laws. Thatcher directly blames trade unions for upsetting business, saying that "excessive wages for insufficient output" make British products uncompetitive on the international market. (396) Thatcher and Norman Tebbit, Secretary of State for Employment, worked together to pass the Employment Act of 1982. The Act covered six areas and tightly constricted the privileges and freedoms the unions once had. The area most seriously affected was trade union funds. Unions could now be sued and forced to pay for unlawful acts. Some limits were set to protect the unions. The new laws were not well received at first but were quickly criticized as being too soft. Thatcher makes it clear that she considered the new laws a major accomplishment at the time.

The memoirs show that Thatcher was conscious of the immediate and long-term effects of decisions made by the government. It also shows that through the entire steel industry struggle she looked at the workers, the industry and the country as a whole throughout the decision making process. Having worked in the office of a union shop myself, I applaud Thatcher's efforts at trade union reform. While trade unions may have been necessary at one time to secure better working conditions, better pay, and better benefits, it is my opinion that unions as a whole are outdated and in many circumstances for companies to be less competitive in the market.

Posted by: Margaret S.

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