JJ Foods Strike (1995)

Tue Oct 31, 1995

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On this day in 1995, workers at the JJ Fast Food Distribution plant in Tottenham, London walked out to demand the reinstatement of their elected shop steward, beginning a several-month strike at the factory.

The workers were mostly Kurdish and Turkish immigrants, as the food and textile industries were significant employers of immigrant workers.

Working conditions at the plant were difficult - according to the anarchist publication Black Flag, workers were putting in 60-70 hours per week with no overtime, sick, or holiday pay. The day before the strike, the factory manager had fired the elected shop steward in response workers’ attempts to organize through the Transport and General Workers’ Union (TGWU).

When arriving to work the next day, workers refused to work, demanding the reinstatement of their elected representative. The boss then demanded union workers leave, and then fighting broke out. The union members then gathered outside the gate and were attacked by police.

The following day, the sacked workers and around 100 supporters again gathered outside the warehouse, attempting to block the access road and again clashing with police. The labor disputes continued for months. After two weeks, an Industrial Tribunal initiated by TGWU ruled that the workers had been sacked for union membership, and ordered them to return to work February 26th.

Despite this apparent victory, when 35 workers returned to their jobs, they were told that their union would not be recognized and that they be forced to work from 5 AM until midnight. This caused another strike, however it was short-lived and ineffective. Only 12 out of the original 42 fired JJ workers returned to work on March 18th.