Victory against harassment

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AUDREY White won an important victory for trade unionism when she was reinstated last week. Audrey had been sacked from her job as manageress of Liverpool fashion store Lady at Lord John after complaining about sexual harassment from her area manager.

Audrey is a member of the branch, who immediately set up a picket line outside the shop.

The shop was successfully picketed for over three weeks with shoppers boycotting the store, and a petition calling for Audrey's reinstatement received several thousand signatories.

Management first tried to buy Audrey off and then offered her two other positions in the company, both of which meant loss of pay and demotion. But Audrey stood firm.

Management then took out an injunction under the 1982 Employment Act to try and stop picketing of the store and one Saturday morning, eight pickets were arrested for obstruction.

One of them, a young woman, was subjected to a strip search, with the cell door left wide open to make it even more insecure.

When TGWU Regional Secretary, Bill Heywood, received notice of the injunction, he immediately called off the picket, but the picket remained, recognising that Heywood's action was in breach of union policy.

After three weeks picketing and no apparent change in the attitude of management, the dispute spread to another Lady at Lord John shop. which was picketed with even more success., The next day senior management called Audrey to a meeting in Birmingham together with union representatives. ' They agreed to reinstate Audrey in her old job at the same shop and to pay her wages that she lost for the duration of the dispute.

A discount for all TGWU members was also agreed Sexual harassment is a common problem for women working in shops. Our action shows that sexual harassment is a trade union issue. The dispute was well covered in the local press and if we had lost it would have given the green light to many managers to treat their female staff as they wish.

Now, it is a great encouragement for women workers to fight back through their union.

The labour movement must now come to the defence of the eight arrested pickets who have pleaded not guilty.

BM Box 5355, London WCIN 3X support of the welders and against the lay-offs.

Tuesday saw the management shift their line on the welders' claim, agreeing to talks on it on Wednesday. The lay-offs were withdrawn and strike action suspended by the welders pending a settlement.

Talks went on until Thursday night, with management offering 5p, then 10p. The welders came out again, lay-offs followed, and the boilermakers are taking a firm stand and have gone out.

More lay-offs are bound to take place, and the other unions, through the Confed, will have to make a decision.

To win this dispute will be an enormous boost to the confidence of the workforce at Lairds, and explode the myth that workers in the industry have no strength and can only accept management dietates.

PS OUT

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