“The trade union movement in this country and abroad saw the ban as a red line. If Thatcher got away with banning unions at GCHQ, who would be next?”
By Hugh Lanning
The trade union movement is coming together in Cheltenham this Saturday for a TUC demonstration, 40 years on from a historic struggle over Thatcher’s anti-union agenda.
There are two very good reasons to march this weekend. First to oppose the Government’s legislation to impose Minimum Service Levels on various workers who serve the public with the first test of the legislation coming soon over the Aslef train driver’s strike. Mick Whelan, Aslef General Secretary, will be speaking in Cheltenham – along with many other leading trade unionists.
The reason why it is in Cheltenham and the second reason to go to Cheltenham is because, 40 Years ago, the Thatcher Government sought to ban trade unions in GCHQ. The march is celebrating the success of that campaign – described by John Monks as “one of the best in recent trade union history”. The ban came at a time when Tory anti-union ideology was running wild, confident it was on a winning roll.
Having taken on the printers in the guise of Eddie Shah and then the steel-workers, the Government was building up for the ‘big one’ – to take on the miners, whatever it cost. The defeat of the miners a year later was followed by long lasting heroic disputes at Wapping, P&O, Silent Night and many others. Most were ultimately lost – so it is important to remember and celebrate a rare victory. It is also important to learn the lessons today from the campaign against the GCHQ union ban.
In 1984 no-one had heard of GCHQ – Government Communications Headquarters, the government’s then secret intelligence-gathering centre. Let alone that the staff were represented by trade unions. All that changed on 25 January 1984, when Margaret Thatcher’s government announced its decision to impose a total ban on trade union membership at GCHQ. The decision came without warning or consultation, it provoked a sustained campaign unparalleled in modern labour history. It ended in 1997 when, in one of its first decisions, the Labour government overturned the ban.
For more than thirteen years, trade union members in GCHQ and their unions campaigned against the ban, inspired by a small group of brave GCHQ staff, led by the late Mike Grindley. They defied the ban refusing to give up their trade union membership – many were made to resign, were transferred and, after many threats, in 1988 14 staff were sacked.
Those individuals and the principle they fought for – the right to belong to a union, became a symbol for the protection of basic civil rights against an arbitrary, authoritarian, and totally unnecessary, act. They commanded huge support throughout the labour movement. The rally in Cheltenham on 27 January will mark the 40th anniversary of the ban on unions at GCHQ and the historical significance of this struggle and its relevance to current attacks on trade union freedoms.
The public reason that the Margaret Thatcher government gave for the union ban at GCHQ in 1984 was the industrial action that the civil service had taken in 1981. They claimed that this disrupted the intelligence operations of GCHQ.
But the real reason was that she believed there was a “conflict of loyalty” between belonging to a trade union and working for the government at GCHQ. She thought that, fundamentally, trade unions were a hostile enemy within.
There was a wider anti-trade union agenda that had taken root at the time of the ban. Against a backdrop of big disputes in different sectors, there were new trade union laws being introduced that affected strikes, picketing, balloting – all interfering with how unions were run.
The GCHQ ban sought to give the impression that there was nothing to stop the government from breaking up and weakening the trade union movement. But it didn’t turn out to be so easy for them.
There were two main reasons why this ban, and the campaign which overturned it, struck a chord with so many trade unionists across the UK and became such a celebrated cause across the world.
One is that it wasn’t an ordinary industrial dispute. It was the government of the day banning the right to belong to a trade union, which is the most fundamental right for workers. It struck right at the very heart of democracy.
The other reason is the response of the members themselves, particularly those who were sacked in 1988. These were people who put their jobs, their careers and their personal lives on the line in order to fight to reinstate their right to belong to a trade union.
The trade union movement in this country and abroad saw the ban as a red line. If Thatcher got away with banning unions at GCHQ, who would be next? The campaign became a symbol of opposition to a broader anti-trade union agenda.
Looking back, there have unfortunately been plenty of ‘glorious’ defeats in trade union history. But it is equally important that we celebrate struggles where we actually achieved something.
It was a major achievement after 13 years of campaigning to see the ban defeated. People were offered their jobs back, union and pension rights were restored. There are other lessons to learn from it as well.
One is the lesson of unity. There was unity between nine civil service unions at the time. Younger PCS members may find it difficult to imagine there being so many unions. But one of the reasons why PCS came into existence is because of the ban and the campaign that followed. It is one of the reasons why PCS is a key sponsor and supporter of the event – with PCS General Secretary , Mark Serwotka, making his last public speech as GS in Cheltenham.
The dispute teaches us the value of collective action, of how it can bring about change and positive outcomes. But also, that individuals can make a difference: the 14 people who were sacked stepped forward knowing what would happen. It changed their lives irreversibly.
The trade union movement owes them a great debt for it – we might not be operating as free, independent unions as we are now if it hadn’t been for the GCHQ campaign. It is disappointing, but predictable that today’s trade unionists are have to fight for the same rights – the right to belong to a union , the right to organise and strike.
There is no red line, the Tories just keep coming back with different ways of trying to prevent collective action. It was banning unions at GCHQ, it was thresholds, it was picketing – and now it’s minimum service levels. They are all different versions of the same agenda.
Unions and their members today could learn from the GCHQ campaign that you have to keep on fighting for those rights; they don’t get handed to you. Standing up for them is critical if you want to maintain them.
As this historic campaign showed us, change does not happen automatically – even with pledges from politicians and parties. It is disappointing that the Labour Party will not be represented at the rally. Over the years GCHQ Trade Unions recorded and amassed 41 pledges from the Labour Party to restore trade unions and on the 15 May 1997 Robin Cook lifted the ban – after 4850 days of campaigning. But it was not without wavering in and around the leadership of the party, it was ultimately delivered because Labour’s feet had been held to the fire on GCHQ so often, it was recognised there would be a price to pay if the ban wasn’t lifted.
Only the unity and the determination of the trade union movement can ensure that today’s legislation will not succeed – and that we will fight for better and fairer legislation until it is replaced with a regime of workers’ rights that allows unions to operate freely.
Join the TUC and PCS march and rally in Cheltenham this Saturday – Unison, Unite and other unions are providing transport to get there.
- The TUC demonstration is mobilising at 12pm this Saturday (January 27th) at Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham, GL50 1UL. Let them know you’re taking part here.
- Hugh Lanning worked for the civil service trade unions for over 30 years, serving as the Deputy Chairman of the PCS until 2013.
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