Hard labour

Bill Sirs, recently retired as General Secretary of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation, pulls no punches in this opinionated and compassionate autobiography

Leader of the steel unions during their most troubled years, an aggressive negotiator and a shrewd judge of men, Bill Sirs was- and remains - one of Britain's most generally liked and respected trade unionists. His work was to tread the delicate balance between politicians such as Harold Wilson, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher, union chicfs like Arthur Scargill and captains of industry including Sir Monty Finniston, Sir Charles Villiers and lan MacGregor. For his constant committment to moderation-and for his fight for his union-he was both branded as a traitor and threatened with imprisonment.

Here he describes the struggles of his union against various governments and the plight and future of the steel industry. Unable to restrain his chagrin at the way the NUM leadership failed to come to an understanding with the steelworkers during deamers' strike, Hard Labour is Bill Sirs' snewer to als critics and his perspective on recent goverinents and political upheavals in Britain. Anecdotal, frank, perceptive and astute,

Hard Labour is also the story of a boy who grew up in the hungry north-east in the 1920s, became a crane-driver, embraced the cause of socialism and social welfare with a zeal still undiminished and remains utterly committed to the growth and power of trade unionism in Britain. His views as to how this will be achieved are as controversial as the man.