What was the Dagenham strike of 1968?
On 7 June 1968, 187 female sewing machinists at the Ford car plant in Dagenham went on strike over the cutting of their pay.
Why did the Dagenham women go on strike?
On 7 June 1968, 187 female sewing machinists at the Ford car plant in Dagenham went on strike over the cutting of their pay. The pay cut was thanks to a dubious reclassification of the firm’s wage structure.
What was the Dagenham Ford strike 50 years ago?
50 years ago, women at the Dagenham Ford Factory began a strike that became a turning point in the fight for equality. It was not the first such strike, and it would certainly not be the last.
What happened to the Dagenham plant?
The Dagenham plant already had a tradition of militancy, which would continue in the following decades with a series of walk-outs, including a three-month strike in 1971. Up until 1968, that militancy had primarily involved just the male workforce.
How long did the Dagenham strike last?
Barbara Castle, the country's employment minister at the time, was brought in to help negotiate a settlement. After four weeks on strike, the machinists voted to return to work following an offer of 92% of a male 'B' grade rate.
What happened at Dagenham car factory in 1968?
On 7 June 1968, all 187 women employees working in the factory laid down their tools and began a strike to earn equality. The women in Dagenham Factory were sewing machinists, responsible for the car seats in the majority of Ford cars built in the area. Without the car seats, cars could not be produced.
What caused the Dagenham Womens strike?
In 1968, 187 women sewing machinists at the Ford Motor Company plant in Dagenham, Essex, went on strike. Their jobs had been re-graded at a less skilled grade than men, meaning they were being paid 85% of the rate paid to men.
Do Ford still make cars at Dagenham?
Vehicle assembly ceased at the plant in 2002, but it continues as a major production site with capacity to assemble 1.4 million engines a year.
What is made at Ford Dagenham?
In addition to diesel engine manufacturing, Ford Dagenham is also home to Ford's Transport Operations which is responsible for the transport logistics of Ford components and vehicles across the U.K., and to a number of other functions, including Information Technology. “Engines, Cars, Trucks, Tractors & Ventilators.
What was the result of the strike at Ford?
The strike was ultimately resolved through binding arbitration under Supreme Court Justice Ivan C. Rand and resulted in the widely used Rand Formula. The Windsor Ford Strike was a 99-day strike from 12 September to 19 December 1945 by 11,000 employees of the Windsor, Ontario, Ford Motor Company plant.
Did the Equal pay Act passed?
In addition, through the efforts of Peterson, who had been appointed Assistant Secretary of Labor, the Equal Pay Act of 1963 was passed by Congress and President Kennedy signed it into law on June 10, 1963.
Is Made in Dagenham based on a true story?
"Made in Dagenham" is the true story of a group of working-class English women who walked off the job - protesting their wages at the Ford Motor Company. "The thing is, we had to do it," said Vera Sime.
When did the Ford factory close?
The Ford Factory closed in August 1994 and more than 400 workers were made redundant. The last car made there was the Ford Laser. From 1995-c. 2000, the site was used as a Linfox distribution centre.
How many people work Fords Dagenham?
Ford Motors eventually became synonymous with Dagenham, where it employed more than 40,000 workers by the 1950s. Through seven decades, the Dagenham workers produced about 11 million vehicles and turned a corner of east London into a showpiece of British industrial culture.
Where are Ford plants in UK?
Ford Motor Company Ltd. Ford of Britain operates two major manufacturing sites in the UK, in Dagenham (diesel engine production) and Halewood (transmissions). It also operates a large research and development facility in Dunton, Essex, which employs over 3,000 engineers.
Why did the Dagenham strike happen?
The Dagenham strike was far from being a “feminist” strike led by women wanting to defeat the patriarchy or questioning the unfairness of women being paid less than men. Rather, it was led by working class women fighting against poverty wages and against the injustice that their work be seen as less skilled than the work of the paint sprayers - regardless of gender. This was a fight over working conditions and fair pay, not gender equality.
What was the Dagenham machinist strike?
The Dagenham machinists strike and the struggle for equality. 50 years ago, women at the Dagenham Ford Factory began a strike that became a turning point in the fight for equality. It was not the first such strike, and it would certainly not be the last.
What did the women of Ford Dagenham and Halewood stand up against?
The women from Ford Dagenham and Halewood stood up against the bosses, against the press, against the government and, at times, against their male co-workers and trade unionists. They were brave and principled women who fought for workers’ rights and their fight should be celebrated and studied 50 years on, at a time when the gender pay gap is still being fought against in Britain and elsewhere.
How many women's union dues did the Dagenham plant lose?
The women of Dagenham said that union leaders did not think much about losing a mere 187 women's union dues out of thousands of workers at the plant. Bernie Passingham recalled how they faced opposition from some within the TGWU (Transport and General Workers’ Union, now UNITE):
Why did the Dagenham women's strike start?
The Dagenham women’s fight was primarily centred around how they were treated as workers. Their fight did not begin as a civil rights protest about gender equality. The women who went on strike were not second-wave feminists burning their bras in protest against gendered standards. The strike began with the simple request that their work be recognised as skilled in the same way that the work of others, who happened to be men, was so recognised.
What was the Dagenham women's fight about?
The Dagenham women’s fight was primarily centred around how they were treated as workers. Their fight did not begin as a civil rights protest about gender equality. The women who went on strike were not second-wave feminists burning their bras in protest against gendered standards.
What did the Dagenham plant say about the speed ups?
The Dagenham plant was renowned for squeezing all they could out of the workers. “ No one makes old bones at Ford, ” was a popular saying, referring to the short life span of many workers, worn down by the intensity of labour. One worker would later refer to the production line as a “living death.”
Why did the Dagenham strike happen?
The Dagenham strike was far from being a “feminist” strike led by women wanting to defeat the patriarchy or questioning the unfairness of women being paid less than men. Rather, it was led by working class women fighting against poverty wages and against the injustice that their work be seen as less skilled than the work of the paint sprayers – regardless of gender. This was a fight over working conditions and fair pay, not gender equality.
Why did the Dagenham women's strike start?
The Dagenham women’s fight was primarily centred around how they were treated as workers. Their fight did not begin as a civil rights protest about gender equality. The women who went on strike were not second-wave feminists burning their bras in protest against gendered standards. The strike began with the simple request that their work be recognised as skilled in the same way that the work of others, who happened to be men, was so recognised.
What did the women of Ford Dagenham and Halewood stand up against?
The women from Ford Dagenham and Halewood stood up against the bosses, against the press, against the government and, at times, against their male co-workers and trade unionists. They were brave and principled women who fought for workers’ rights and their fight should be celebrated and studied 50 years on, at a time when the gender pay gap is still being fought against in Britain and elsewhere.
What did the Dagenham plant say about the speed ups?
The Dagenham plant was renowned for squeezing all they could out of the workers. “ No one makes old bones at Ford, ” was a popular saying, referring to the short life span of many workers, worn down by the intensity of labour. One worker would later refer to the production line as a “living death.”
What can be seen through the slogans used throughout the strike?
What can be seen through the slogans used throughout the strike is the shift from the initial demand for recognition of their labour as skilled, to the demand for equality with male workers in terms of pay; equality in how the women’s’ labour was graded; and the call for equal pay.
Where did the pressure on women strikers come from?
Added pressure on the women strikers came from some trade union officials – the very people who should have supported the female trade unionists.
Why were the machinists angry?
Understandably, the machinists were angry that they were to be now considered unskilled, despite the fact that they had to pass tests in order to gain employment with Ford. The new pay structure left the machinists’ pay as the same as that of the cleaners, whose work required less skill.
What was the effect of the three week strike?
One of the direct outcomes was an increase to the women's pay and a step towards equal pay for men and women within the same grade.
How long did the Ford plant strike last?
When the plant closed some men were laid off and Ford was faced with the prospect of far greater losses. The strike lasted for 3 weeks. On 28 June 1968 some of the machinists attended a meeting with Barbara Castle, the Employment Secretary, following which an agreement was reached.
Why did machinists strike again?
Less than 20 years later many of the same machinists were striking again because their work was still not being graded fairly. In 1984 the machinists were finally given the recognition they deserved when the classification of their work was changed to "semi-skilled" grade C, in line with men with equivalent training.
Why did women go on strike at Ford?
In fact, the strike was actually in protest at the unfair grading system that was in place. Nonetheless the three-week strike played an important part of the equal pay story. One of the direct outcomes was an increase to the women's pay and a step towards equal pay for men and women within the same grade. The strike is also widely credited as having been a significant catalyst for the subsequent passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1970.
When did the machinists walk out of Ford?
On 7 June 1968 one hundred and eighty seven machinists walked out of the Ford plant in Dagenham and refused to continue working without proper, fair classification. On the same day, machinists at the Halewood Ford plant also walked out.
What was the strike at Ford Motor Company?
Underestimating skilled work. The strike of women sewing machinists at Ford Motor Company Limited’s Dagenham plant occurred in June 1968 following a dispute over the way in which their positions at the factory were classed. As part of a regrading exercise, it was determined that the sewing machinists would be classed as Category B, ...
When did the Equal Pay protest take place?
In May 1969, almost a year after the strike, the organisation organised an Equal Pay demonstration in Trafalgar Square.
What movie was the story of women sewing machinists strike at a Ford factory?
Story of women sewing machinists’ strike at a Ford factory was dramatised in the 2010 film ‘Made in Dagenham’
When did the Equal Pay Act come into effect?
On 29 May 1970, two years after going on strike, 187 women working at a factory in East London witnessed their hard work pay off when the Equal Pay Act received royal assent. Coming into force five years later, the Act sought to “prevent discrimination, as regards terms and conditions of employment, between men and women”.
When did the Equal Pay Act start?
And yet, their decision to strike in the late 1960s triggered the passing of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 and inspired those fighting for gender equality to this day. The introduction of the Equal Pay Act meant that for the first time, it became law for men and women to be paid the same salary for equal work.
Did the Dagenham factory strike affect women's lives?
Many of the women’s husbands also worked at the Dagenham factory. Not only did some of them disapprove of the strike , but it also put their jobs and the livelihoods of their families at risk.
Why did the Dagenham sewing machinists walk out?
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. At the time it was common practice for companies to pay women less than men, irrespective of the skills involved.
When did the women's strike start?
The strike, 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 covers and as stock ran out the strike eventually resulted in a halt to all car production.
What was the Ford sewing machinist strike?
Jump to navigation Jump to search. The Ford Dagenham plant, pictured in 1973. 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 .
When did the UK join the EEC?
Once the UK joined the EEC 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.
Who wrote the screenplay for the 1968 strike?
A film dramatisation of the 1968 strike, Made in Dagenham, with a screenplay by William Ivory, was released at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2010.
When did women get regraded to Category C?
The women were only regraded into Category C following a further six-week strike in 1984.
When did Barbara Castle strike?
Barbara Castle, taken between 18 October 1964 and 23 December 1965, when Castle was Minister for Overseas Development (cc. WikiMedia Commons, National Archives of Malawi) expander.
Why did women go on strike at Ford?
This in itself seemed no big deal. The women were sewing machinists who made covers for car seats. The cause of their unrest was unequal pay. As part of a Ford rearrangement, their job was being reclassified as Category B (‘less skilled’) instead of Category C (‘more skilled’).
When was the Dagenham plant built?
Origins to 1945. Planning of the Dagenham plant began in the early 1920s , a time when lorries were small and road networks little developed. In the UK, bulk supplies were still delivered by water transport, so the Dagenham plant, like the Ford Trafford Park plant which it would replace, needed good water access.
How many diesel engines are produced in Dagenham?
The Engine Plant (the original building from 1931) and the Dagenham Diesel Centre (DDC) still produce close to 1 million diesel engines a year which are shipped worldwide.
How many acres are there in Ford Dagenham?
Engines. Employees. 2,000 (approx.) Area. 475 acres (192 ha) Ford Dagenham is a major automotive factory located in Dagenham, London, operated by the Ford of Britain subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. The plant opened in 1931 and has produced 10,980,368 cars and more than 39,000,000 engines in its history. It covers around 475 acres and has received ...
What was the first vehicle made at Dagenham?
The first vehicle out of the Dagenham plant was a Ford AA van, produced in October 1931. However, the British economy was in a depressed condition at this time, and the surviving local market for light trucks was dominated by Morris Commercial products. Production at Ford’s Dagenham plant got off to a slow start, but picked up as the British economy recovered, so that by 1937, the plant produced 37,000 vehicles, an annual total that would not be exceeded until 1953. Most of the output of the Dagenham plant during the 1930s consisted of various editions of the Ford 8, a successful model first built at Dagenham in 1932, which probably inspired the even more successful Morris 8, first produced at Cowley in 1935 by the UK market leader of the late 1930s.
When did Ford buy land in Dagenham?
In 1924, Ford Motor Company purchased land in the Dagenham marshes for £167,700. On 17 May 1929, Edsel Ford marked the start of construction on the site by cutting the first turf in the marshes.
When did Ford stop making diesel engines?
Vehicle assembly ceased at the plant in 2002, but it continues as a major production site with capacity to assemble 1.4 million engines a year. In 2008, the plant produced around 1,050,000 engines and was the largest producer of Ford diesel engines globally. It was announced in October 2012 that the stamping plant at Dagenham would close in summer 2013 with the loss of 1,000 jobs. Employment at the plant peaked at around 40,000 workers in 1953.
Year of Revolution
Militant Traditions
- The Dagenham women’s fight was primarily centred around how they were treated as workers. Their fight did not begin as a civil rights protest about gender equality. The women who went on strike were not second-wave feminists burning their bras in protest against gendered standards. The strike began with the simple request that their work be recognised as skilled in the same wa…
Not A Wheel Turns...
- The restructuring of their pay meant the women were now forced to act - forced to fight for fair wages, in a job that they didn’t mind so much as put up with - so that they could continue to feed their families and pay the bills. The strike came when it did, not because the women had finally had enough of the working conditions, but because the wage cuts profoundly affected their abili…
Uphill Struggle
- But their fight wasn’t easy. Some of the strikers were opposed by men who had been laid off, arguing that the women should go back to work so that they could too. Some were opposed by the wives of these men, who were now struggling financially and therefore putting pressure on the strikers. Davis gets to the heart of the strike in this comment. The strike was about providing for …
Fighting For Fair Pay
- With the Ford Dagenham plant at a standstill, the dispute was now of national significance. And, given the rise in trade union militancy (including a sharp increase in unofficial strikes) and the decline in the economy, Barbara Castle, secretary of state for trade and industry, intervened to insist on a deal. This was mainly due to the enormous economic pressure that the strike was ha…
The Struggle Continues
- Although the Equality Act of 2010 enshrined gender pay equality in law, the pay gap – though narrowed – persists. Currently standing at around 19 per cent, it means women workers still earn, on average, only 81p for every £1 a man earns. However, in order to close that gap, we need to look at what causes it. Today, compared to when the Dagenham women were striking, the pay g…
Year of Revolution
- 1968 was an explosive year for workers fighting against oppression and exploitation – not least in France, where the events of May ‘68 had shaken the establishment to its core with the trade unions and student movement coming close to taking power. This was at a time when Britain had a significant manufacturing base. It was a time of mass productio...
Militant Traditions
- The Dagenham women’s fight was primarily centred around how they were treated as workers. Their fight did not begin as a civil rights protest about gender equality. The women who went on strike were not second-wave feminists burning their bras in protest against gendered standards. The strike began with the simple request that their work be recognised as skilled in the same wa…
Not A Wheel Turns…
- The restructuring of their pay meant the women were now forced to act – forced to fight for fair wages, in a job that they didn’t mind so much as put up with – so that they could continue to feed their families and pay the bills. The strike came when it did, not because the women had finally had enough of the working conditions, but because the wage cuts profoundly affected their abili…
Uphill Struggle
- But their fight wasn’t easy. Some of the strikers were opposed by men who had been laid off, arguing that the women should go back to work so that they could too. Some were opposed by the wives of these men, who were now struggling financially and therefore putting pressure on the strikers. “Some of the men said: ‘Good for you girl’ but others said: ‘Get back to work, you’re only …
Fighting For Fair Pay
- With the Ford Dagenham plant at a standstill, the dispute was now of national significance. And, given the rise in trade union militancy (including a sharp increase in unofficial strikes) and the decline in the economy, Barbara Castle, secretary of state for trade and industry, intervened to insist on a deal. This was mainly due to the enormous economic pressure that the strike was ha…
The Struggle Continues
- Although the Equality Act of 2010 enshrined gender pay equality in law, the pay gap – though narrowed – persists. Currently standing at around 19 per cent, it means women workers still earn, on average, only 81p for every £1 a man earns. However, in order to close that gap, we need to look at what causes it. Today, compared to when the Dagenham women were striking, the pay g…