Catalogue Number
NMLH.1992.880
Object Name
Badge
Title
OFFICIAL DISPUTE. SOGAT. NGA. 1986 WAPPING.NUJ.AUEW
Place
Wapping, London
People
Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW); National Union of Journalists (NUJ); Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT); National Graphical Association (NGA)
Events
Wapping dispute
Description
Round enamel pin badge with a red border with helix, barbed wire pattern around the edge. The central circle has a black background with text in gold, "OFFICIAL DISPUTE. SOGAT. NGA. 1986 WAPPING. NUJ. AUEW". The initials refer to trade unions - Society of Graphical and Allied Trades (SOGAT), National Graphical Association (NGA), National Union of Journalists (NUJ), and Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers (AUEW).
The badge was produced in support of printworkers, who had gone on strike in response to the management of Rupert Murdoch's News International refusing to negotiate terms for the movement of the printworks of the newspapers to a new factory in Wapping with worse terms of employment, in 1986. Following the declaration of the strike, known as the Wapping dispute, striking members of staff were fired. Mass pickets and a boycott movement soon followed, but the 54-week strike was ultimately unsuccessful.
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