Editing Winter of Discontent (section)

==Ford negotiations==
Although not an official guideline, the pay rise set by [[Ford of Britain]] was accepted throughout private industry as a benchmark for negotiations. Ford had enjoyed a good year, and could afford to offer a large pay rise to its workers.<ref name="Ford Profits Fall as Sales Set Record at $10 Billion">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Doug |title=Ford Profits Fall as Sales Set Record at $10 Billion |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=28 April 1978 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1978/04/28/ford-profits-fall-as-sales-set-record-at-10-billion/21a813fa-1d95-4d45-a9d8-df41c54d8eef/ |access-date=12 November 2022}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=November 2022}} The company was, however, also a major government contractor. Ford's management therefore made a pay offer within the 5 per cent guidelines. In response, 15,000 Ford workers, mostly from the [[Transport and General Workers Union]] (TGWU), began an unofficial strike on 22 September 1978, which subsequently became an official TGWU action on 5 October.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} The number of participants grew to 57,000. The strike prevented the production of 115,000 vehicles which cost Ford around $885 million.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

During the strike, [[Vauxhall Motors]] employees accepted an 8.5 per cent rise.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} After long negotiation in which they weighed the chances of suffering from government sanctions against the continued damage of the strike, Ford eventually revised their offer to 17 per cent and decided to accept the sanctions; Ford workers accepted the rise on 22 November.<ref name="Ford Faces Pay Penalty In Britain">{{cite news |last=Hershey |first=Robert |title=Ford Faces Pay Penalty In Britain |newspaper=The New York Times |date=23 November 1978 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/11/23/archives/ford-faces-pay-penalty-in-britain-grants-1685-raise-3-times-5.html |access-date=12 November 2022}}</ref>