'Dangerous Liaisons' - Wisbech pair pen book celebrating trade union achievements fighting for women's rights
Britain’s first Equal Pay Act received royal assent on May 29,1970, and to mark its 50th anniversary two Wisbech women, retired trade union activists Sue Dockett and Julie Williams, have written a booklet called 'Dangerous Liaisons'.
Sue said: “We are celebrating the achievements of 170 years of working women's struggles for equality through the trade union movement but fifty years on from the Act women are still fighting for equal pay and equal rights. We wanted to tell the personal stories of women in the East of England who are active in their union today.”
Women had been campaigning and striking for equal pay with varying success since the 1830s. At the beginning of the 20th century Mary Macarthur challenged low pay and exploitation and through her National Federation of Women Workers helped women achieve significant improvements.
But it was the strike by Ford sewing machinists in 1968, famously portrayed in the film 'Made in Dagenham', that resulted in the new Equal Pay Act.
Megan Dobney, until last year secretary of the Trades Union Congress East and South East Region, has written a foreword to the booklet. More than half of trades union members today are women and around a third of unions are led by women. Megan stresses that a woman’s place is not just in her union but leading her union.
Sue Dockett said: “The Covid 19 crisis has shone a light on the continuing underpayment and undervaluing of hundreds of thousands of working women who have been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
“This story of past achievement has shown that when women come together in a trade union we can achieve change. We hope that when the country returns to some form of normality this booklet can help inspire today’s women to never accept that things cannot be changed but to join a union and change them.”
Co-author Julie Williams said: “We want the booklet to show that being active in your union doesn’t mean you have to be a branch official. Going to meetings, making decisions and promoting the union among work colleagues is just as important. If we are going to end low pay and exploitation women must get involved in their union.”
The booklet will be printed and distributed as soon as the country's health crisis eases and publishing returns to normal. For now, it will be available online from Friday, May 29, on the Wisbech, March and District Trades Council Facebook page.
