Ford strike report

In 1968, 187 women sewing machinists at the Ford Motor Company plant in Dagenham, Essex, went on strike. Their jobs had been re-graded at a less skilled grade than men, meaning they were being paid 85% of the rate paid to men. Barbara Castle, Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity, intervened on behalf of the Dagenham women, and they returned to work after their pay was raised to 92% of that of men. Sir Jack Stamp was an industrial conciliator and chairman of the Motor Industries Joint Labour Council. He chaired the Court of Inquiry appointed on 25 June 1968 to inquire into the causes and circumstances of the dispute between Ford and the sewing machinists. The Court reported on 14 August. They found the dispute was about grading rather than equal pay, and recommended that the machinists' job profile be reviewed.