In 1993, against a background of national change in the printing industry and its labour relations, the entire 120-strong workforce of the long-established printing company J.W. Arrowsmith Ltd was dismissed. When everyone was offered reinstatement under changed conditions, including de-recognition of the trade union, only 5 returned to work. The remainder stayed away. A picket was maintained on the works gate for 18 months.

Both sides in the dispute had a lot to lose and took a determined stand. The employers believed that they had the right under law to set and vary terms and conditions by agreement with their own workforce. They believed that the viability of the company was threatened by the imposition of national pay agreements. After a long period of good relations with their workforce, they were surprised by the breakdown of negotiations that led to the dispute.

The workforce, on the other hand, felt betrayed by the management. They believed that the company could afford to give them a pay increase and pointed to expenditure by the owners and managers that suggested that the firm was not as loss-making as was suggested. The vast majority of the staff remained loyal to the trade union’s stand throughout the 18-month dispute, although in the end they lost their argument.

J.W. Arrowsmith closed as a printing company in 2006.