Ulster Workers' Council

The Ulster Workers' Council (UWC) was a Loyalist organisation set up in 1974. It was comprised initially of a group of workers from the major industries in Belfast who had been part of the Loyalist Association of Workers (LAW) (LAW was in existence between 1971 to 1973.) Law was involved in the United Loyalist Council Strike in February 1973. However, it was the UWC which organised the strike of May 1974 which brought down the power-sharing Executive government of Northern Ireland. The UWC received the complete support of Loyalist paramilitary groups. The particular support of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), with its considerable supply of manpower, enabled the UWC to halt power supplies, transport, industry, and commerce. The UWC was controlled through a co-ordinating committee which was chaired by Glenn Barr, then a Vanguard Assembly member and member of the UDA. The committee had a number of Loyalist paramilitary representatives. Once the strike began to have an impact a number of politicians, including Ian Paisley, joined the committee. Spokesmen for the committee were Jim Smyth and Harry Murray. The UWC took part in the 1977 Loyalist strike. In 1981 Harry Murray said that the UWC was being reorganised to campaign on economic matters. (See also: Loyalist Association of Workers; LAW) Reading: Anderson, Don. (1994), 14 May Days: The Inside Story of the Loyalist Strike of 1974. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.