FEATURE Grunwick legacy


THE WOM ROARED


The incredible ‘lions’ of Grunwick and their legacy for BAEM women workers


Badly treated workers hitting back against unscrupulous bosses by joining a trade union and fighting for their rights is certainly inspiring. But it can be a nightmare for those involved, especially if they are poorly paid Asian women with few rights and no union support.


And that’s exactly what happened 40 years ago to a group of women working at the Grunwick film processing factory in north London.


Exhausted by a climate of fear and control by managers at their workplace, they walked out following the dismissal of a colleague for “working too slowly.”


Led by the extraordinary Jayaben Desai, the women became known as the “strikers in saris”, attracting support across the country.


Harish Patel, Unite national officer for equalities, said the dispute was a “historic” event, shining a light on the appalling treatment of ethnic minority women workers.


He believes it was also a lesson for the trade union movement, which at the time was mainly led by white men, dealing with disputes mainly involving white men.


“Employers had never encountered anything like this before and the same could probably be said of some trade


union leaders. People will look back at that era and believe that trade unions should have looked at their structures – even the TUC was reluctant to get involved,” he told uniteWORKS.


Harish said the continuing scandals of poor treatment of workers highlights the importance of Unite’s drive to widen its reach both by organising and through Unite’s Community section.


Many lessons were learned from the Grunwick dispute, and sadly, unions are still fighting some of the same issues, especially in low paid sectors like catering and cleaning, which employ high numbers of migrant women.


Jayesh Mistry sees at first hand the way Asian women are treated today in his job. A Unite regional officer he represents members at Heathrow Airport – scene of another infamous dispute after workers were sacked in 2005 at food supplier Gate Gourmet.


The company, which provided in- flight meals for British Airways, sacked hundreds of workers in a dispute over working practices, pay, and the appointment of temporary summer workers.


Some of those involved still work at Heathrow, and Jayesh fears they still face repercussions from the bitter dispute.


24 uniteWORKS Autumn 2016


He believes many of the difficulties for Asian women are caused by managers who don’t understand their culture and the difference with other workers.


But he also comes across companies in the airline supplies sector, such as DHL, which are happy to engage with staff and their needs, as well as involving the local community.


Grunwick and Gate Gourmet were difficult disputes for unions as well as employers and governments, but Jayesh says one of the lessons he learnt was the importance of workers supporting each other.


“There was massive camaraderie between workers – and companies just don't understand that. Sadly there are still companies taking advantage of workers who are only trying to better themselves.”


The Grunwick women realised having a trade union at their workplace would help their fight for better rights, but the management refused to give union recognition, and some workers who had joined the Transport and General Workers Union (a Unite predecessor) were made redundant.


Over 100 workers who went on strike were sacked. On 20 August 1976, mother- of-two Mrs Desai walked out of the factory, and as she left, a manager


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