Teesside Iron and Steel Memories Interview: Melva Cook

Background & early work:
Started work at 16yrs straight from school at Cargo Fleet offices in June 1965
Had told mam at 5yrs old on the bus to Middlesbrough "That's where I'm going to work at Cargo Fleet offices"
Never changed. Dad worked @ Smiths Dock & wanted her to work there, but no.
Applied to Dorman Long, Smiths Dock (to keep dad happy) and South Durham in 1965 after school exams
No jobs at Dormans but got interview and immediate job offer from South Durham (Cargo Fleet)
Started as Junior Shorthand Typist in June 1965 & loved the work from the start
In 1969, S.Durham merged with Stewarts & Lloyds and Dorman Long to form the Northern & Tubes Group (of the now British Steel Corporation) and the then cashier moved to Dock Street and MC took over as Petty Cashier at Cargo Fleet
Stayed in the same department for 40 years to 2005, moving to Steel House in 1977
Typists were encouraged to do clerical work when times were quiet - MC preferred this to typing (not keen on shorthand)
Accounts was in 2 sections - for steel going out & supplies coming in
Every morning, sacks of mail were sorted
An hour per day was spent sorting invoices, credit notes etc & each one was allocated a customer or supplier reference number
Can still remember many of these years later - Shell Mex 8085, Ruston Bucyrus 7092 etc
Invoices were then distributed to appropriate departments for approval
Then on return all had to be recorded, in pen & ink, in large ledgers
Passed on to an early large computer & a team of girls punching out cards
Large print-outs were received showing how much was paid out weekly, monthly etc
Then the necessary cheques were typed out & sent for signing
By machine usually, but manually countersigned for large sums (over £50/100k)
Radical changes occurred over her 40 yr career to the modern fully computerised systems

Later Work:
In the earlier cashier role, MC was responsible for paying staff expenses, each afternoon. Enjoyed the interaction
Paid out according to the 'Authority to commit' guidelines, and had to decide on entitlement to expenses
Surprised how many people tried to deceive the system
Three people during her time lost jobs for abuse of expenses
Her last position at Steel house from 1999 to 2005 was in Sales Ledger on the Control Section controlling bank accounts
Dealt in all foreign currencies, buying currency forward when orders were secured to insure against currency fluctuations for long running orders
Also controlled Sterling accounts to track payments and delays, and follow up on outstanding payments
Modern computerised systems improved this process considerably
Difficult times from the late 90's onwards when major re-organisations involved jobs transferring out of Steel House
In 2001, closure of Steel House was proposed and many jobs were lost
In 2005, MC took early retirement aged 58 when her section was transferred to South Wales. Many others also left then, several to redundancy

Social Relationships:
MC preferred the old Cargo Fleet offices which were smaller & more intimate than the open-plan arrangements in Steel House, but nevertheless had some really happy times in Steel House. Met really good people & had a big, friendly family atmosphere
Visitors from Scunthorpe or Wales always commented on the great atmosphere in their office
Many great characters in the office over the years
Keen on charity fund-raising activities - raffles, collections etc - and the management were always prepared to support these efforts
Regular social activity - nights out etc
Kept in close contact with many colleagues after retirement
The 3 month steel strike in the 80's was a bad time
MC was one of the last out of Steel house, working between Christmas & New Year to handle the canteen takings, and did not return until early April
No income during the period (apart from one £5 payment from the Union)
Good camaraderie with colleagues. Couldn't afford their regular social nights out, so took turns to go to each other's homes to socialise
On return to work the backlog was huge, so extra shifts were arranged to clear it
Serious long term financial impact for many people
Never made up the lost pay
Especially hard for those with families
Later attempts to organise strikes over, for example, the moves to Scunthorpe & Wales, were unsuccessful due to the lack of support