Skip to main content
Rising like lions to change labour history
PETER FROST sees a magnificent play on the Grunwick strike which highlights its lasting impact on the union movement

We Are the Lions, Mr Manager!
The Place, Bedford

AUGUST 20 1976 marked the end of one of the longest and hottest weeks on record in a scruffy factory in Willesden, north-west London.

The diminutive, sari-clad Jayaben Desai was clocking off after an exhausting week and, as she left, the management racist abuse started up and she was urged to: “Stop chattering like monkeys in a zoo.”

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
SAYING IT CLEAR: Phelbotamists on the picket line Pic: Henry Fowler/Strike Map
Features / 8 November 2025
8 November 2025

Solidarity is needed for the longest strike in NHS history, argues HENRY FOWLER of Strike Map

ALL TOGETHER: Workers from all industries join the ‘mega picket’ — mass solidarity action to support the Birmingham bin strike organised by Strike Map, July 25 2025. Photo: Henry Fowler
Features / 29 August 2025
29 August 2025

Since 2023, Strike Map has evolved from digital mapping at a national level to organising ‘mega pickets’ — we believe that mass solidarity with localised disputes prepares the ground for future national action, writes HENRY FOWLER

Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (left) during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy, June 23, 2025
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

After one year of a Labour government attacking winter fuel allowance and disabled people, the trade union movement must step up regardless of who holds power, writes STEVE GILLAN