The Ulster Workers Council was a
loyalistUlster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. Some individuals claim that Ulster loyalists are working-class unionists willing to use violence in order to achieve their aims...
workers' organisation set up in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the
Loyalist Association of WorkersThe Loyalist Association of Workers was a militant Unionist organisation in Northern Ireland that sought to mobilise trade union members in support of the Loyalist cause....
. It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially failed to gain much attention. However, with the full support of the
Ulster Defence AssociationThe Ulster Defence Association is a loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Its main objective has been to reject unification of Ireland. The UDA is outlawed as a proscribed terrorist group in the United Kingdom....
the UWC became the main mobilising force for loyalist opposition to power sharing arrangements.
The UWC was controlled by a co-ordinating committee, which was chaired by
Glenn BarrGlenn Barr, OBE , is a former politician from Northern Ireland who was a advocate of Ulster nationalism.Initially a member of a general trade union, Barr went on to join the Loyalist Association of Workers in the early 1970s and from there became involved in the Ulster Defence Association...
, at the time a member of the
Northern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
for the
Vanguard Progressive Unionist PartyThe Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
, as well as a brigadier in the UDA.
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The Ulster Workers Council was a
loyalistUlster loyalism is a militant unionist ideology held mostly by Protestants in Northern Ireland. Some individuals claim that Ulster loyalists are working-class unionists willing to use violence in order to achieve their aims...
workers' organisation set up in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
in 1974 as a more formalised successor to the
Loyalist Association of WorkersThe Loyalist Association of Workers was a militant Unionist organisation in Northern Ireland that sought to mobilise trade union members in support of the Loyalist cause....
. It was formed by shipyard union leader Harry Murray and initially failed to gain much attention. However, with the full support of the
Ulster Defence AssociationThe Ulster Defence Association is a loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Its main objective has been to reject unification of Ireland. The UDA is outlawed as a proscribed terrorist group in the United Kingdom....
the UWC became the main mobilising force for loyalist opposition to power sharing arrangements.
The UWC was controlled by a co-ordinating committee, which was chaired by
Glenn BarrGlenn Barr, OBE , is a former politician from Northern Ireland who was a advocate of Ulster nationalism.Initially a member of a general trade union, Barr went on to join the Loyalist Association of Workers in the early 1970s and from there became involved in the Ulster Defence Association...
, at the time a member of the
Northern Ireland AssemblyThe Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
for the
Vanguard Progressive Unionist PartyThe Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party , informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1973 and 1978...
, as well as a brigadier in the UDA. Initially made up of fringe figures, the committee grew in stature after the beginning of the Ulster Workers Council Strike, with
Ian PaisleyRev Dr Ian Richard Kyle Paisley is a veteran politician and church minister in Northern Ireland. As the then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party , the largest single grouping in the 2007 elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, he was elected First Minister with Sinn Féin's Martin...
amongst those to take up a seat.
After the success of the 1974 strike, the UWC organised a repeat in 1977, although by this point the dependence on the loyalist workforce had been reduced and the impact of this second UWC strike was much less. Former spokesman Harry Murray suggested that the UWC was being reorganised in 1981, although nothing came of this and the UWC was largely brought to an end by the failure of 1977.