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

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

Biography

Born in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. It ...

, west London, Sapper studied at the

Latymer Upper School Latymer Upper School is a public school in Hammersmith, London, England, on King Street. It derives from a charity school, and is part of the same 1624 Latymer Foundation, from a bequest by the English legal official Edward Latymer. There ...

, then worked as a botanist at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, while studying with the

University of London External Programme The University of London Worldwide (previously called the University of London International Academy) is the central academic body that manages external study programmes within the collegiate university, federal University of London. All courses ...

. He became active in the Institution of Professional Civil Servants, then in 1958 moved to work for the

Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(ACTT), initially also undertaking scriptwriting. He was General Secretary of the

Writers' Guild of Great Britain The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), established in 1959, is a trade union for professional writers. It is affiliated with both the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds (IAWG). History The u ...

from 1964, before returning to ACTT as General Secretary in 1969, 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.Dennis Barker
"Obituary: Alan Sapper"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 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

President of the Trades Union Congress The president of the Trades Union Congress is a prominent but largely honorary position in United Kingdom, British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serv ...

in 1982, and also as the President of the Confederation of Entertainment Unions and the International Federation of Audio Visual Workers. He served on the Board of Governors of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

between 1974 and 1994. Sapper's brother Laurie also became the leader of a trade union.Sapper, Laurie
''Compendium of Communist Biography''.

References

1931 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British businesspeople 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English screenwriters Alumni of University of London Worldwide Botanists active in Kew Gardens English male screenwriters English trade unionists General secretaries of British trade unions People educated at Latymer Upper School People from Hammersmith Presidents of the Trades Union Congress Governors of the British Film Institute {{UK-trade-unionist-bio-stub