Industrial disputes and discrimination in employment

This file consists of correspondence; statements; leaflets and flyers; press cuttings; and draft writings on themes relating to trade union activities and industrial disputes at various businesses in the West Midlands and Southall. Most of the material dates from the 1960s, but there are also some papers which relate to later disputes.
Much of this material is connected with the issue of racial discrimination. Many of the strikes in which Indian workers were involved had their origins in cases of discrimination at work, and several strikes called by Indian workers were not supported by their trade union. Other papers contain information about the segregation of black and Asian workers, and Indian Workers Association campaign work against racial discrimination in the workplace. These issues were often bound up with industrial disputes during the 1960s.

Papers relating to trade unions consist of:
/1-2 flyers in Punjabi and Urdu issued by the Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers setting out the benefits to workers of joining the union, and in Punjabi issued by the Amalgamated Engineering Union Shop Steward Committee at Midland Motor Cylinder Co. The flyers are undated, but are likely to have been issued during the unions recruitment drive for Asian members in the West Midlands during the early 1960s
/3 letter from the Joint Managing Director, Midland Motor Cylinder Company to the Indian Workers Association Birmingham branch concerning the provision of amenities at the Middlemore Road Foundry, 4 June 1965
/4-/12 correspondence between Avtar Jouhl and district organisers of the Amalgamated Union of Foundry Workers concerning segregation of toilet and shower facilities for white and Asian workers at the North Works of Midland Motor Cylinder Company in Smethwick, June-October 1966. One piece of correspondence also contains details about a meeting in West Bromwich to discuss the union recruitment drive in the Midlands which Avtar Jouhl was asked to attend.
/13 copy letter from Jagmohan Joshi on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the Indian Workers Association to the President of the Amalgamated Engineering and Foundry Workers Union expressing disappointment about the activities of the union in Smethwick, Tipton and West Bromwich in failing to support black and Asian members

Papers relating to industrial disputes consist of:
/14-/17 correspondence and statements concerning the dispute at Woolf's Rubber Company Ltd in Southall December 1965-January 1966, including a letter from the strike convenor asking for support and explaining the background to the strike; general circular to all Indian Workers Association branches including a request to pass resolutions of support and solidarity to Indian workers striking at Woolf's Rubber Company under the leadership of the Transport and General Workers Union; letter from the shop stewards committee at R. Woolf & Co. (Rubber) Ltd setting out reasons for the dispute and asking for donations to the strike fund; letter to Jagmohan Joshi from a representative of the Youth Forces for National Liberation: Jamaica, discussing the dispute at Woolf & Co (Rubber) Ltd

/18-/24 correspondence and statements concerning the dispute at Coneygre Foundry in Tipton, May 1967 including a statement of support issued by the Central Executive Committee of the Indian Workers Association to the strikers at Coneygre; letter to Joshi from Freedom Press announcing that the strike appeal of the Coneygre Foundry dispute will be included in the publication; and correspondence to Jagmohan Joshi from the United West Indian Association, Sheffield, written after the successful conclusion of the strike, which includes a draft assessment of the strike.

/25-/26 correspondence and statements concerning the dispute at Austin works at Longbridge involving labourers at the East Works, November 1967, including a statement issued by the Longbridge East Works Labourers Committee which sets out the reasons for the dispute which began in November 1966 following the dismissal of workers and allegations of racial discrimination at the works, together with a letter to the Indian Workers Association with thanks for the organisation's continued support and requesting their attendance at a protest meeting in the centre of Birmingham 19 November 1967

/27-/28 statements issued by the Support the Miners Committee, West Midlands, asking for support for the strike by members of the National Union of Mineworkers and donations to the strike fund, and by the Indian Workers Association Birmingham branch, in English and Punjabi, asking members to support the strike and to attend a demonstration against racism in Bradford, 1974

/29 copy of the Black Workers Action Committee weekly review, no 7, containing articles about the dispute at Standard Telephone Cables, New Southgate, London, early 1970s

/30 statement issued by the Grunwick Strike Committee (Apex B TGWU) giving information about a national conference called by the strike committee at the Wembley Conference Centre 14 May. This statement is undated, but it is likely to have been issued towards the end of the strike in 1978

/31-/33 statements relating to the dispute at Raindi Textiles and Supreme Quilting, Smethwick, including a statement in English and Punjabi issued by the Strike Committee (P. S. Raindi and Supreme Quilting) urging striking members not to be swayed by 'deceptive propaganda' issued by the management of these companies. There is also a typescript statement issued by members of the Indian Workers Association; the Shaheed Udham Singh Welfare Centre; the Progressive Writers Association; Indian Arts Centre (Birmingham) and the Immigration Aid Unit in support of the strikers, which includes information about the reasons for the dispute, and an appeal in Punjabi by the management at Raindi requesting workers to go back to work and find a way to reach agreement. This strike took place during the early 1980s

/34 statement issued by the Air-India Strike Committee giving details about the background to the strike, including a summary time-line of the dispute, and asking for moral, financial and active support, September 1982

/35 statement in English and Punjabi issued by the Indian Workers Association Birmingham branch in support of the dispute at Joseph Fray, Smethwick, setting out the reasons for the strike and ways in which people in the local area can offer practical support to the strikers, November 1986

/36 undated statement issued by the Strikers Committee in connection with the strike at Newby Foundry Ltd, West Bromwich asking for support from other workers to defeat the anti-trade union attitude of this firm

/37 undated leaflet in Punjabi issued by workers of Firth Wickers Stainless Steel Ltd, Black Heath, Birmingham. The leaflet explains that the strike has been called because of impending redundancies.

Papers relating to cases of racial discrimination in employment consist of:
/38 statement issued by the Indian Workers Association Birmingham branch giving information about the case of an Indian employee of Midland Motor Cylinder Company who reported the discriminatory practice of his employers to the Race Relations Board and calling on the employee's trade union and the Race Relations Board to support him. This item is closed under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 until 2050 because it contains sensitive personal information about an individual
/39 letter from the General Secretary of the National Council for Civil Liberties to Jagmohan Joshi discussing arrangements for his participation in a forum on 'Segregation or Integration' which will focus on discriminatory practices in employment, 15 December 1965
/40 circular letter issued by the Action Committee against victimisation of the Transport and General Workers Union shop steward at Walkers Crisps factory in Leicester, dismissed in relation to his union activities, 28 December 1965
/41 letter to Jagmohan Joshi from an individual refused employment as a conductor at Birmingham City Transport 1967
/42 notes written in pencil by Jagmohan Joshi consisting of a list of companies in the Birmingham area who employ black and Asian workers only in unskilled jobs
/43-/44 letter from John Lyttle, Chief Conciliation Officer, Race Relations Board, to Jagmohan Joshi enclosing transcripts of speeches made by Mark Bonham Carter [Chairman of the Race Relations Board] and Oscar Hahn [Chairman of the West Midlands Conciliation Committee] at a conference on racial equality in employment organised by the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants and held February 1967
/45 appeal issued by Sharomani Akali Dal, Great Britain urging organisations to join a march to 10 Downing Street to deliver a protest to the Prime Minister in connection with Wolverhampton Council's discrimination of turbanned and bearded Sikhs employed as bus crew, May 1968
/46-/48 rejection letters from engineering companies in Birmingham and Stockton-on-Tees to a graduate of Birmingham University following his applications for jobs with these companies, February 1976. These letters were presumably sent to the Indian Workers Association by the candidate in connection with the issue of racial discrimination in employment

This file also contains flyers; handwritten notes; and press cuttings on various issues connected with the Labour and Trade Union movements, particularly relating to racial discrimination. These consist of:
/49 May Day statement issued by the Indian Workers Association Birmingham branch expressing solidarity with all workers and those fighting imperialism, particularly in Laos, India, China and Angola. The statement also condemns H-Bomb tests and the proposed Immigration Act. This statement is likely to have been issued in the early 1960s
/50 appeal issued by the Indian Workers Association (Birmingham branch) to all Trades Council delegates, urging them to support a resolution on the agenda of Birmingham Trades Council calling for action against racism and fascism, and particularly against the Immigration Control Association in Birmingham. This statement is likely to date from the early 1960s
/51 flyer giving details about a National Conference of Apprentices and Young Workers to be held at Houldsworth Hall, Manchester, 13 March 1965 to discuss a national strike of apprentices to be called 29 March 1965
/52 circular letter from Jagmohan Joshi asking colleagues to hold public meetings to mark May Day and to express solidarity with the international working class
/53 booking form for a Midland Regional Trade Union Conference to Combat Racial Discrimination, to be attended by representatives from a number of trade unions opposed to discrimination in employment and in the labour movement
/54-/60 handwritten draft notes by Jagmohan Joshi on the employment of Indian graduates in semi-skilled jobs; industrial disputes at Birmid Qualcast, Shotton Brothers and Midland Motor Cylinder Company in 1969 and 1970; and the attitude of members of the Indian Workers Association towards trade unions
/61-/70 press cuttings from national and local newspapers on the relationship between trade union officials and black and Asian workers; and the exploitation of these workers by companies and 'intermediaries' working on the shop floor, 1965-1970

Part of this file is closed under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998 until 2050 because it contains personal information about an individual. The remainder of the file is available for consultation. Remove marked 'closed' files before serving.