Partial victory in S&K strike
Socialist Organiser1982 1982-06-24Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 15 →
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week and will not THE month long strike at S&K warehouse in Birmingham is over. The 30 workers who had been out for union recognition, the reinstatement of victimised workers and improved wages, voted to return on the recommendation of TGWU District Official John Partridge at a meeting last Thursday.
The final settlement is a partial victory for the workers: S&K have agreed to recognise the union and to raise wages by 60p across the board (even SO, the minimum is still £1.40 an hour!)
However, two of the leading activists in the strike, Baljinder Singh Diana Medford, have • not been reinstated.
It seems that Baljinder and Diana may have chosen to accept a pay-off from S&K rather than prolong the strike. However with stronger support from the TGWU (the workers were Men.: not even receiving strike pay although the action was official) Baljinder and Diana would not have been put in such a difficult position:
The newly unionised black workforce have nonetheless shown how strong they can be.
As one of the strikers said: 'Things will never be the same again at S&K."
Jim Denham Corbishley