At the end of last year, Asian workers at the Loughborough fiem of Mansfield Hosiery Mills won a major breakthrough for all black workers when at the end of a long strike they won the right to equal training opportunities with white workers. Specifically, they smasbed the colour bar which bad kept them out of the skilled knitting johs at the factory However, that turned out not to be the end of the story. Some Asian workers were promoted to the skilled knitting jobs -but found that they were put to work on the old Nine Gange machines. The averuge wage that can be achieved on such a machine is only C33 per week, whereas at least £40 can he earned on the newer Fine Gauge knitter. Management ciaim that the black workers do not have the necessary experience, but just what experience is necessary is unclear since the 21 white knitters who came on at the same time are all working Fine Gauge machines. The only additional expeence these men have is that of crossing the picket line to take up these jobs A further grievance of the black workers is tha tbeir union, the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers, has still made no real attempt to enable the black workers to play a full role in the union. Asians make up over half the workforce but only tlee of them alt on the 15-strong factory committee. As one of them commented: The only time the union listens to us is when we occupy the union offices"
All these grievances have come to the lore with the setting op of 13 new knitters. Of these 12 are white, and eight were recruited from outside the factory although ten black workers with up to ten years' experience at Mansfield Hosiery aiso applied. As a result the workers have held a mass meeting and told the union in no uncertain terms to take up their probles. I satisfaction is not achieved within three weeks then a further meeting is likely to declare once again for some form of industrial action. Andrew Jenkins Red Weekly 6 July 1973 Page