The equal pay strike at Salford Electrical Instruments, now in its second week, looks like being the first of many, Ballots on the Isue held by the clerical workers union APEX at a number of other plants have in all cases shown a large majority in favour of strike action, and these decisions are almost certain to be endorsed by the Executive of the union at its meeting this Saturday.
The dispute at S.E.J., which is a subsidiary of the giant GEC combine, opened up after a management offer in early April of £1.75 to the clerks, more than halt of whom are women, The workers were toki that this was the best the company could do under Phase 2, and that the increase represented a step towards oqual pay, since it narrowed the percentage differenAPEX, however, wants to see equal pay achieved at the highest possile nate for both men and women. To this end they demanded separate calculation of the increases, raising the male rate by £2 and the female rate by £1.70, coupled with a one-third closing of the differential (which is allowed for under Phase 2). This would give the women a further C2, ie. a total increase of t3.70. But management refused to make any advance on the original than 100 APEX members, men as well as women, walked out at both the Becles and Heywood plants of S.E.L. on 30 May.
Since then, the workers hove been organising a 24 hour picket which has been almost totally successful in turning away the hundreds of Jorries which arrive cach day. The management has now been reduced to the level of smuggling in important components in car boots. Althowel the raciory nas so lat manaked lore: main open, the production workers, a large number of whom are also women, were meeting on Wednesday to deeide whether or not tu recognise the APEX pickets. Most of these workers are not in a union (although some arc members of the AUE), waich has made it difFicult to explain the issues and the need for solidarity between clerical and production workers to the sbop floor. But if they vote to recognise the pickets, a move supported by the AUEW, then the factory will come to a complete standstill.
PRESSURE APEX is not known as a militant union — indeed its recent conference has just added the international Socialists to the list of proscribed organizations and outlawed the APEX Action rank-and-file group. But it is obviously coming under pressure from the other white-collar unions on APET workers fear GEC it Rusby picker prest conference on egaol pep at Department of Employment on i the question of equal pay, since more than hall of its 125,000 members are women. The union now has a policy of vetoing all settlements which do not make prepress towards equal pay. This poses the issue very sharply, Already workers at GEC Turbine Gencrators in Rugby have walked out in a dispute over a management differential. Action is also threatened ar British Domestic Appliances (also a GEC subsidiary!. Coventry Climax, Smiths Industries, Salisbury GAS Transmissions, Prestige Lid. Joseph Lucas, J& J Cash, Wickmans, Fleming Reid, and otbers. The solidarity of male with female workers at S.E.L. Has already shown that it is possible to overcome one of the traditional weaknesses of such disputes. in the next few weeks the whole labour movement must face up to the fact that only by fichting for the more weakly organized and badly paid sections can fragmentation and eventual defeat at the bands of the emploriog class he avoided.
Photo: Peter Harrep (Report)
Red Weekly 15 June 1973 Page 3
Below and right
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APEX OFFIGIAL DISPUTE