The Battle of Saltley Gate remembered

A new website has been set up to publicise the 40th anniversary of 'The Battle of Saltley Gate' in Birmingham:

In February 1972 some 30,000 Birmingham engineers walked out on strike in solidarity with striking miners who were fighting against austerity pay deals. Up to 15,000 then marched to join miners who were picketing Saltley coke depot. The blockade forced the police, who had kept the depot open all week, to surrender and close the gates.

Militant picketing involving tens of thousands of miners had shut down power stations, docks and coal depots. But the victory at Saltley, won through solidarity strikes, was the turning point for the miners. Within seven weeks the government was defeated.

Today, working people face a similar assault on their living conditions. November 2011 saw millions of workers strike in Britain in the biggest show of united action in generations. Forty years on the Battle of Saltley Gate carries powerful lessons for a working class that is once again stirring.

This website is an attempt to produce a list of articles on Saltley Gate. Click here for article links and click here to read articles on this site.
There will hopefully be celebration events in Birmingham in 2012. These will be publicised here.

If you have articles or pictures you would like linked, or hosted, on this site please email saltleygateinfo@gmail.com

A commemorative pamphlet, Close the Gates - the 1972 miners strike, Saltley Gate and the defeat of the Tories has also been written for the anniversary by Pete Jackson: