The print unions controlled the national newspaper industry for most of the twentieth century. By threatening strike action, they could work on their own terms – and newspaper owners usually paid up in order to get the paper out on time.

Every printer or ‘inkie’ had to be a union member, giving him the right to strike without being sacked. The unions were notorious for overstaffing the presses and demanding more money.

The compositors of Fleet Street were able to demand a high wage because of their vital role in turning journalists’ stories into metal pages for printing as Len Walledge explains

“Newspapers are a perishable product: after the date of issue they're only useful to wrap fish and chips. A colleague once said to me, ‘We pay them to come to the door and then we negotiate a rate for them to start work.’ If the comps went on strike they would usually do so when they only had two more pages of the edition left to set, then they would come and see me. It was always about money. If they said it was a matter of principle I knew it was going to cost me even more money.”