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Ricky Tomlinson: ‘In this country it’s still us and them’
On the 50th anniversary of the 1972 national builders strike, BETHANY RIELLY talks to the former construction worker turned award-winning actor about the lasting legacy of the historic walkout and the deepening divide between the ruling and working class
(L to R) Ricky Tomlinson at his home in Liverpool and with Dennis Warren on their way to the court of appeal in London on October 29 1974
[(Left) Neil Terry]
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FIFTY years ago, in the autumn of 1972, thousands of construction workers were returning to building sites for the first time in three months, with a spring in their step and more money in their pockets.
They had just achieved what many thought impossible; a national strike across a fragmented workforce, resulting in the biggest pay rise the industry had ever seen.
It was the first — and only — national builders’ strike in British history. At the height of the action, unions reported that 200,000 workers at 7,000 sites had downed tools. The offer marked a major victory, not only for the construction workers, but the trade union movement.
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