Disputes

Cliff Lockyer

Research fellow at the Fraser of Allander Institute, Strathclyde University

Aged 23, Cliff worked for 15 months in 1969 in the industrial relations section at Linwood.

"There were lots of disputes in the early days. And, in fact, one newspaper recorded all stories about Linwood under strikes! That's how they presented them. I think maybe it got a wrong impression overall. But there were fundamental problems: insecurity of work was one; secondly, being paid lower wages than the same people doing the job in Coventry; thirdly, there were disputes between trade unions, lots of problems. But gradually, through time, the bargaining positions improved and the thing began to settle down, until insecurity, changes of ownership in the 1970's and the place closing in 1981."