Description

This hand-drawn poster was used to publicise a meeting held by Bethnal Green and Stepney Trades Council in London in June 1977 in support of the Grunwick Strike. The monochrome illustration depicts strikers, all migrant women of Asian descent, holding a picket line against a backdrop of police.

What was the Grunwick Dispute? 

The Grunwick dispute was an industrial dispute that took place from 1976 to 1978 at the Grunwick Film Processing Laboratories in northwest London. It was initiated by mostly Asian women workers from East Africa protesting poor working conditions such as unfair dismissals, racial prejudice, and poor wages. The protestors, led by Jayaben Desai, sought trade union recognition and attracted a wide range of support to picket lines outside the plant. Although the strike itself was unsuccessful, it was significant as the first black and migrant worker struggle that won support from the labour movement.