Bill Sirs, the former general secretary of the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation during the turbulent years of 1975 to 1985, has died aged 95.
From a Hartlepool schoolboy with no qualifications, Sirs rose through the ranks to become one of the most powerful names in the UK’s trade union movement.
The former ISTC - Iron and Steel Trades Confederation - general secretary held the post during some of industry’s most turbulent times including the three-month steelworkers’ strike of the 1980s which affected 17,000 employees on Teesside.
He went on to achieve an honourable settlement after 12 weeks of dispute.
During what he called his “ten years of hard labour” British Steel - now SSI - shed a massive 150,000 jobs.
Bill started his career at the South Durham Steel and Iron Company at 17, and later became a local official for the ISTC. He moved to Middlesbrough, looking after around 90,000 workers from 1963 to 1970, before leaving Teesside to become general secretary until his retirement aged 65.
Speaking to the Gazette about the state of the steel industry in 2002, he said: “I have always thought the Teesside beam mill was one of the finest in the world and a recent visit to the area confirmed my opinion.
“We still have an excellent workforce - we’ve always had good workers, that’s one thing that’s not changed.”
