# Bill Sirs

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**William Sirs** (6 January 1920 – 16 June 2015) was a British trade unionist, who served as general secretary of the [Iron and Steel Trades Confederation](/source/Iron_and_Steel_Trades_Confederation) (ISTC) from 1975 to 1985.[1]

Bill Sirs was born and raised in Hartlepool, one of 10 children.[1] He left school at 14 and became a crane operator in the iron and steel industry, becoming active in forerunners of the ISTC. He remained in north-east England until he moved south with his two children and his wife Joan.[2]

Sirs is best remembered for his involvement in the steelworkers' strike of 1980.[3] During the action, Sirs came into conflict with [Ian MacGregor](/source/Ian_MacGregor), the man appointed by Prime Minister [Margaret Thatcher](/source/Margaret_Thatcher) to slim down [British Steel Corporation](/source/British_Steel_Corporation), then a nationalised industry. Sirs was quoted as saying, "We are being looked upon as the worst producing steel nation in Europe".[4]

Sirs subsequently incurred the wrath of other trade unionists by his intervention in the miners' strike of 1984.[5]

Sirs was a member of the [St Ermin's group](/source/St_Ermin's_group), an organised group of right-wing trade unionists meeting at the [St Ermin's Hotel](/source/St_Ermin's_Hotel) with the aim of preventing the [Bennite](/source/Bennite) left taking over the [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)).[6]

## Works

- *Hard Labour*. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1985.

## References

1. [Obituary in *Daily Telegraph*](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/11690208/Bill-Sirs-trade-unionist-obituary.html)

1. [William (Bill) Sirs: Obituary](http://johnstonpress.iannounce.mobi/hartlepool-mail/obituary/william-bill-sirs/42252376) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160307122702/http://johnstonpress.iannounce.mobi/hartlepool-mail/obituary/william-bill-sirs/42252376) 7 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine

1. [Ian Donovan, "Strategic confrontation in the making", Weekly Worker 519 Thursday 11 March 2004](https://web.archive.org/web/20040624180700/http://www.minersadvice.co.uk/yourview16_ww_great_strike_1.htm)

1. [BBC On This Day, 2 January 1980](http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/2/newsid_2478000/2478393.stm).

1. ["Enter Bill Sirs, kneeling"](https://archive.today/20120707060127/http://archive.tribunemagazine.co.uk/article/6th-july-1984/2/enter-bill-sirs-kneeling), *Tribune*, 6 July 1984

1. Martin Adeney & Denis MacShane (22 June 2015). ["Bill Sirs obituary"](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jun/22/bill-sirs). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 21 July 2019.

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