The 1980s ALL IMAGES KATE SUTHERLAND


going on strike should make it the weapon of last resort. It is a blunt instrument, which in the end meant everyone was a loser. It is not a jolly. I shake my head when I see some images of today’s strikes throughout society. Only a handful of the journalists were offered their jobs back.


I was one but I chose a different career path, one that eventually took me into public relations and later local politics. Others went their separate ways, with redundancy cheques in their pockets. Some even became newspaper editors. What did we achieve? In football parlance, the outcome was probably a no-score draw. In October 1999, Scotland on Sunday quoted Douglas Brodie,


who specialised in the history of labour law at Edinburgh University: “It put a lot of employees off striking in the future. The overwhelming message was that striking doesn’t pay.” Not surprisingly, John Foster, as NUJ general secretary at


that time, took a different view: “I am sure the commitment and support of our members prevented the derecognition spreading throughout Scotland.” However, it also nearly bankrupted the NUJ, costing


roughly £1 million. The union eventually got back on an even keel financially.


As for the Thomson business, it eventually sold the


newspapers and retreated to North America. Aberdeen Journals is now owned by DC Thomson (no relation). Newspapers are no longer printed in Aberdeen but some 70 miles away in Dundee. As with newspapers throughout the country, circulations


have plummeted. The Press and Journal reportedly sells about 20,000 copies a day – some 100,000 fewer than before the strike. The Evening Express has seemingly fallen below 9,000 copies a day, which is about 60,000 down. Little did we realise then how quickly newspapers would fall


out of favour. They are shadows of their former selves. Society is changing. I have seen the best and worst of times for print media. What a ride! Now, where is my mobile?


Ian Mollison is a long-retired newspaper journalist theJournalist | 19


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