ABSTRACT
In December 1970 industrial action, in the form of a ban on overtime and working to rule, called for by the leaders of the four industrial staff unions, took place in many parts of the industry, especially the power stations. This was the first official industrial action on a national scale since 1964, and only the second since 1926. Including the Electrical Power Engineers’ Association’s industrial action in 1973 (see Chapter 6) there were, all told, three such events in the industry’s forty years of public ownership. The December 1970 action is interesting in itself but more so because it led to some decisions that were to be important in the difficult three years immediately ahead. This chapter is a short account of the main events. 1
