Alan Sapper

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Alan Sapper (18 March 1931 – 19 May 2006) was a

trade unionist
.

Biography

Born in

scriptwriting. He was General Secretary of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain from 1964, before returning to ACTT as General Secretary, serving until 1991, when the union merged with the Association of Broadcasting Staffs to form the Broadcasting Entertainment Cinematograph and Allied Trades Union (BECTU) of which he was briefly Joint General Secretary. He acquired a reputation for supporting militant action to defend technicians' pay and conditions, in particular in the ITV strike of 1979, where he secured an almost 30% pay rise.[1]

He supported the proposal of some union members for the nationalisation of the British film industry (both as a socialist principle and as a means of providing financial stability for the rocky industry) and for the appointment of the first trade union researcher into discrimination against women (1974). He was strongly guided in both initiatives by the ACTT's research officer, Roy Lockett.

Sapper served as the

Sapper's brother Laurie also became the leader of a trade union.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b Dennis Barker, "Obituary: Alan Sapper", The Guardian.
  2. ^ Sapper, Laurie, Compendium of Communist Biography.
Trade union offices
Preceded by General Secretary of
ACTT

1969–1991
Succeeded by
Position abolished
Preceded by
New position
General Secretary of
ACTT
1991
With: Tony Hearn
Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Trades Union Congress
1982
Succeeded by