Pentonville Five Arrested (1972) On this day in 1972, five docker shop stewards were arrested for refusing to stop picketing at the Midland Cold Storage Company in East London, leading the Trades...

Pentonville Five Arrested (1972)

Fri Jul 21, 1972

Image: A workers’ rally with a sign saying “ROYAL GROUP OF DOCKS SHOP STEWARDS COMMITTEE ARISE YE WORKERS” [socialist.net]

On this day in 1972, five docker shop stewards were arrested for refusing to stop picketing at the Midland Cold Storage Company in East London, leading the Trades Union Congress to call a one-day general strike on July 31st. The National Industrial Relations Court had issued an injunction, mandating an end to the picketing.

The Pentonville Five had been taking part in a national campaign, organized by local shop stewards committees, against the threat posed to dockers’ jobs by the “containerisation” of transported goods. Their arrest prompted a wave of labor activism that culminated in a general strike in which 250,000 workers participated.

As part of the work stoppage, thousands of striking workers marched through North London to Pentonville Prison. The Five were released on Wednesday, July 26th, however the labor activism provoked by their arrests continued unabated.

The radical film group Cinema Action made a documentary about the event titled “Arise Ye Workers”, released in 1973.