In Febrarury 1972 some 30,000 Birmingham engineers walked out on strike on solidarity with striking miners who were fighting against austerity pay deals. Up to 15,000 then marched to join miners who were picketing Saltley coke depot. The blockage forced the police, who had kept the depot open all week, to surrender and close the gates.

Militant picketing involving tens of thousands of miners had shut down power stations, docks and coal depots. But the victory at Saltley, won throught solidarityy strikes, was the turing point for the miners. Within seven weeks the government was defeated.

Today, working people face a similar assault on their living conditions. Novermber 2011 saw millions of workers strike in Britain in the biggest show of united action in generations.

Forty years on the Battle of Saltley Gate carries powerful lessons for a working class that is once again stirring.