The war had brought thousands of women into the country’s factories and afterwards many remained on the workforce, and became involved in the trade union movement.
The biggest Rolls-Royce dispute that year involved all the workers at the company’s Hillington, East Kilbride and Blantyre factories (who walked out over one worker who was working too hard!)
I know that sounds laughable, but when you unpick the issue it turns out that workers were being laid off or given more menial jobs as there was not enough work to go round. In order to keep more people in jobs it was agreed by the workforce not to overdo the overtime, but one person earned more than their fair share of overtime bonuses, leading to the dispute.
Eventually after two months, with Christmas approaching, the workers voted to go back, the issue unresolved, with the union accusing the then Tory Government of of attacking hard-won union practices and agreements.
On social media:
Bill Duncan I started my apprenticeship with RR in 1955. The only dispute I recall was the so called ” Bonus Joe ” affair where a Blantyre RR worker in the Polishing Shop was earning bonus far in excess than that of his fellow workers by not limiting his output to a level agreed with his work mates.