The 1979 ITV strike was the longest, costliest and bitterest dispute in the history of the ITV companies. For much of the 1970s Britain suffered high inflation rates (peaking at 24.2% in 1975) which meant high pay claims by workers, despite encouragement and even legal restrictions from various governments to restrain pay and thus supposedly break the inflationary cycle. The ITV companies were highly profitable throughout this period, constantly beating the BBC in the weekday ratings and consequ