South Yorkshire Times, May 9th, 1970
Girls Out On Strike
Police supervised a pick-up operation for about 400 girls who stayed at work on Wednesday after as many had walked out of Corah’s Worsbrough factory.
Pickets lined the street outside the factory during the afternoon to jeer and chant at workers.
The unofficial strike affected Corah’s on Wednesday lunch-time – an hour after busloads of girl workers arrived from South Kirkby to bring out the Worsbrough girls. They are complaining about a Union settlement made last week which offered an increase to hosiery workers.
Wage Agreement
The pay rates do not affect Corah’s who have their own wage agreement. “The Union is really fighting to bring other factories into line with our rates,” said a Corah spokesman.
Representatives of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear workers met Mr. David Myers, local Director of Corah’s during the morning and afterwards addressed the girls outside.
But as about 500 workers crowded the street fronting the factory, plans were made to get the non-strikers home at 4.45 p.m.
Buses pulled into the yard so workers could board them without going on to the street where police were still patrolling.
In Sympathy
“The meeting of the shop committee agreed that they had no complaint with the local management here that could not be settled,” said Mr. Myers. “But they felt compelled to strike in sympathy with their fellow Union members in other factories,”
he added.
Mr. Myers added, “Corah’s are really outside this dispute because we have a separate agreement with the Union.
“The police have done a good job in keeping the thing under control and we are assured of adequate protection for the girls at finishing time.”
Three hundred girls turned up for work on Wednesday morning before meeting a senior Union official from Leicester, who had been invited by the management.
Strike action was decided but workers were due to return to Corah’s at Worsbrough this morning (Friday). “It is a worker-Union dispute rather than a worker-management one,” said Mr. Myers.
Standstill
Four clothing factories in the South Elmsall area were brought to a standstill on Monday, when 680 workers, most of them women, stopped work following an unofficial strike triggered off at the Invicta Knitting Mills, South Kirkby in protest at a proposed wages increase.
The dispute has arisen through the acceptance of the National Union of Hosiery Workers of a five per cent increase, which will come into effect in July, with another five per cent rise next January. The workers have refused to accept this offer, however, and want the Union to re-open negotiations with the Employers’ Association with a 20 per cent basic.
After a meeting at the Pretoria Club, South Elmsall, last Thursday, the 300 workers at the Invicta decided to picket other factories to gain support for their new aims, and had an early success on Monday, when their pickets persuaded the 100 staff of the adjoining Jonee Woollies factory to join them.
Some of the women took advantage of the sunny weather to relax in the grassy entrance to the Industrial Estate, while others went to Athlex Ltd., Kinsley and Henry Martin and Co. Ltd., Cudworth, and managed to get them out in sympathy for lunch time.
Rock Bottom
“The five per cent is rock bottom, and we won’t accept it,” a South Kirkby woman said. “The cost of living has risen 7 ½ per cent and they offer five. We are appealing to other factories at Bolton-on-Dearne, Nottingham, Barnsley and Leicester for support.”
“We are after ten per cent now and ten per cent in January,” said another. “We have not had a rise for five years due to the freeze and this is the first offer. It’s ridiculous.”
After a wait of some hours the strikers met a Union representative at South Kirkby and decided to stay out on strike until yesterday (Thursday) when a meeting was to be held at Cudworth Village Club with Union officials to discuss the matter again.