A work-in is a form of direct action under which workers whose jobs are under threat resolve to remain in their place of employment and to continue producing, without pay. Their intention is usually to show that their place of work still has long-term viability or that it can be effectively self-managed by the workers.
Historical examples
- 1972: Sydney Opera House work-in
- 1972: The women worker of the Sexton factory in Fakenham, Norfolk, England.
- 1975: Nymboida coal mine work-in
- 1981: BC Telephone work-in
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, 1971-1972
In June 1971, Upper Clyde Shipbuilders in Scotland entered liquidation after the Heath government refused to provide further subsidies to save them from closure. It was announced that two of the firm's three shipyards would close and 1400 people were immediately made redundant.
On 18 August, a mass demonstration in support of the workers was held in Glasgow, with 80,000 people marching from Glasgow Green to George Square. with the government committing in February 1972 to supporting UCS with a further £35m of state funding.
Harco steel mill, 1971
Harco Steel, a steel manufacturing company based in Campbelltown, Sydney, was dependent on state and federal government contracts, laying off workers once they had been completed and rehiring them as new ones were signed. meaning strikes would have no effect on the firm's profit in the short term.
On 16 November 1971, the firm dismissed five boilermakers and one ironworker due to a downturn in orders. With past strikes having been generally ineffective, workers met and, taking inspiration from the UCS work-in and factory occupations by French car-makers during May 1968, decided to occupy the steelworks. with Harco issuing trespass notices to the workers ordering them to leave.
At a meeting between workers and the firm's directors in June 1973, a worker grabbed a briefcase from one of the directors and ran off with it. The briefcase's contents laid out the closure of all of LIP's divisions except watchmaking, which was to be sold to a Swiss company, Ébauches SA. The Swiss company planned to lay off at least 960 of LIP's 1427 employees. During this time, they seized 65,000 watches (30,000 of which were smuggled out of the factory and hidden across Besançon)