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

trade unionist A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...

. 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. ...

, Sapper studied at the Latymer Upper School, 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 1840, 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 The Institution of Professionals, Managers and Specialists (IPMS) was a trade union representing managers and other people with professional qualifications in the United Kingdom, with a majority of members working in the civil service. History T ...

, then in 1958 moved to work for the

Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians The Association of Cinematograph, Television and Allied Technicians (ACTT) was a trade union in the United Kingdom which existed between 1933 and 1991. History The union was founded by technicians at the Gaumont British Studios in 1933 as th ...

, initially also undertaking

scriptwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

. He was General Secretary of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain from 1964, before returning to ACTT as General Secretary, 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 ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

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 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' 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 British trade unionism. History Initially, the post of president was elected at the annual Trades Union Congress (TUC) itself, and would serve just for the d ...

in 1982, and also as the President of the

Confederation of Entertainment Unions The Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU) is a joint representative body based in the United Kingdom, representing workers in TV, theatre, film, music, gaming, cinema, publishing, new media, professional football and other performing arts. The ...

and the International Federation of Audio Visual Workers. Sapper's brother Laurie also became the leader of a trade union.Sapper, Laurie
''Compendium of Communist Biography''

References

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