The Ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 was a landmark labour-relations dispute in the United Kingdom. It was a trigger cause of the passing of the

Equal Pay Act 1970 The Equal Pay Act 1970 (c. 41) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that prohibited any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. The act was proposed by the then Labour government ...

Strike action

The

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

, led by Rose Boland, Eileen Pullen, Vera Sime, Gwen Davis, Violet Dawson, and Sheila Douglass, began on 7 June 1968, when women sewing machinists at Ford Motor Company Limited's Dagenham plant in London walked out, followed later by the machinists at Ford's Halewood Body & Assembly plant. The women made

car seat A car seat is a seat used in automobiles. Most car seats are made from inexpensive but durable material in order to withstand prolonged use. The most common material is polyester. Bucket seat and bench seat A bucket seat is a separate seat ...

covers and as stock ran out the strike eventually resulted in a halt to all car production at the Dagenham factory. The Dagenham sewing machinists walked out when, as part of a regrading exercise, they were informed that their jobs were graded in Category C (less skilled production jobs), instead of Category B (more skilled production jobs), and that they would be paid 15% less than the full B rate received by men.The Reunion
BBC, published 2003. Retrieved 4 October 2010Dagenham car plant stitch-up that triggered fight for equal pay
The Times, 24 April 2009. Retrieved 4 October 2010 At the time it was common practice for companies to pay women less than men, irrespective of the skills involved. The Wainwright Trust, published 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2010 Following the intervention of

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002) was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament from 1945 United Kingdom general elec ...

, the

Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity The secretary of state for employment was a position in the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. In , it was merged with secretary of state for education to make the secretary of state for education and employment. In , the employment functions were h ...

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...

's government, the strike ended three weeks after it began, as a result of a deal that immediately increased their rate of pay to 8% below that of men, rising to the full category B rate the following year. A court of inquiry (under the Industrial Courts Act 1919) was also set up to consider their regrading, although this failed to find in their favour. The women were only regraded into Category B following a further six-week strike in 1984.

Impact

Inspired by the example of the machinists, women trades unionists founded the National Joint Action Campaign Committee for Women's Equal Rights (NJACCWER), which held an "equal pay demonstration" attended by 1,000 people in

Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster in Central London. It was established in the early-19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. Its name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar, the Royal Navy, ...

on 18 May 1969. The movement ultimately resulted in the passing of the

, which came into force in 1975 and which did, for the first time, aim to prohibit inequality of treatment between men and women in Britain in terms of pay and conditions of employment. In the

second reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming ...

debate of the bill, MP

Shirley Summerskill Shirley Catherine Wynne Summerskill (born 9 September 1931) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician and former government minister, who served as the Member of Parliament for Halifax (UK Parliament constituency), Halifax from 196 ...

spoke of the machinists playing a "very significant part in the history of the struggle for equal pay". Once the UK joined the

EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

in 1973, it also became subject to Article 119 of the 1957 Treaty of Rome, which specified that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. Several streets in Dagenham Green, built on the site of the Ford stamping plant, are to be named for the women who led the strikes and the equal pay campaign.

Film and stage versions

A film dramatisation of the 1968 strike, ''

Made in Dagenham ''Made in Dagenham'' is a 2010 British comedy-drama film directed by Nigel Cole, written by William Ivory, and starring Sally Hawkins, Bob Hoskins, Miranda Richardson, Geraldine James, Rosamund Pike, Andrea Riseborough, Jaime Winstone, ...

'', with a screenplay by William Ivory, was released at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in September 2010. A musical adaptation of the film premièred in London in 2014. The production closed on 11 April 2015.

References

{{FordEurope 1968 labor disputes and strikes 1968 in the United Kingdom Labour disputes in the United Kingdom Feminism in the United Kingdom Textile and clothing strikes Ford Motor Company History of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham History of Liverpool Dagenham 1968 in women's history June 1968 in the United Kingdom History of the textile industry in the United Kingdom Ford Motor Company labor relations

Strike action

Impact

Film and stage versions

See also

References