Catalogue Number
NMLH.2023.43
Object Name
Poster
Title
Fight redundancies in the workplace
Date
1972-1982
Description
The Poster Collective was a collective formed in 1971 at the Slade School of Art,  a group formed to initially produce posters in response to the miners strike and on the wars in both Vietnam and Ireland. It was formed on the basis of developing a coherent visual style, which addressed the political issues of the time. This included the armed struggles against colonialism in Africa, the struggle of women for equal rights and the continuing struggle against racism. The collective was active in the 70's and 80's, producing posters on a wide range of issues, including for educational purposes. The group was not-for-profit and used a variety of hand-printing techniques to create their posters. This is a large white poster with blue text reading "FIGHT REDUNDANCIES IN THE WORKPLACE", underneath which are three photographs of workers holding signs and banners: "Plessey workers demand the right to work", "No closures or contractions of U.C.S", and "Dock workers support Briant Colour Women".
Underneath the photographs is a quote from a U.C.S worker in 1971 reading: "We're aware of the pent up anger and frustration of countless redundancies after redundancies, the crippling paralysis of small redundancies here and there with the cumulative effect of mass unemployment. We're not going to be hungry, we'll fight when we're in the yards and in the factories, and not when we're in the dole queues... we refuse to accept a philosophy that says that economics control men, men must and shall control economics...."
