17. West End Despatch

Submitted by Steven. on January 6, 2007

In April 1992 three cyclists came along to a DIWU meeting because West End Despatch had just reduced their rates of pay. We helped them draft a letter and Nigel helped dish them out as all the workforce were queuing for their wages on the following Friday evening.

The leaflet advertised an early morning Riders meeting in Soho Square the following Tuesday. Nigel and Adam went along to offer the services of the Union, but only ten or so West End riders were there, out of a possible forty. It was decided to try and get a bigger turnout at another meeting the following week.

Nigel did a grand job of distributing more leaflets, but the momentum had been lost, such as it was, and only a couple of riders turned up at the next meeting. So that was that, except that management got to hear of “trouble brewing” and the rates cut was put on ice! Bluff can be a wonderful thing!

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