Racism and Resistance in British Trade Unions, 1948–79

Abstract

This essay provides a critical analysis of the relationship between black2 labour and British trade unions between the years 1948 and 1979. Specifically, it has three main aims. First, it discusses why, following mass immigration from the Caribbean and the Indian subcontinent, elements of organized labour colluded with employers to restrict the job opportunities open to black workers. Second, the essay investigates the nature of resistance to such exclusionary practices offered by black workers themselves. Third, it analyses what impact the changing industrial relations climate of the early 1970s had on working-class consciousness, and in particular on white trade unionists’ attitudes and practices towards black workers.