Welcome back to part two of our double podcast episode about the 1972 Building Workers Strike.

If you haven't listened to part one yet, I recommend you go back and listen to that first.

Hoping down. Up and down the nation he gave the work, strength and courage, up and down the nation, he taught us to prevail.

He fought for safer bell in sights.

He argued for a pound an hour.

He was so successful that they put him in the jail.

In part one, we heard about how the strike started and developed. After 12 weeks, the strike was called off when union leaders came to an agreement with employers. The main demands were not met,

and some rank and file activists considered it a sellout. However, despite this, it was still

the biggest ever pay increase in the industry and considered a massive victory for the workers.

They came out and told us what they'd achieved.

It wasn't the claim, but it was like a huge benefit and victory for us.

When that was announced, the Rorder went up.

There was several thousand building workers there.

That's a real...

That was incredible.

I was there demanding no calling off for the strike and for the full claim, yeah.

But bearing in mind a lot of employers individually had already conceded on the main claim.

You know, that was the success of the strike.

Even before it was called off individually, a lot of companies actually had conceded.

So it was a victory.

It achieved six pound increase a week.

Can you imagine that?

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