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"banner, B.T.R. Sarmcol workers & South Africa & Metal And Allied Workers Union & Negotiate with our Union or Get Out!" [NBS I/D 363]



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Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 363

Object Name
banner

Title
BTR NEGOTIATE WITH OUR UNION OR GET OUT!

Place
South Africa; BTR headquarters & London & England & UK

People
black

Events
Strike; pickets & BTR workers

Date
1986

Creator(s)
NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour History

Description
In 1985 870 workers at the South African Howick factory of the British multi-national BTR Sarmcol went on strike over recognition of the Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU). Within three days the entire workforce had been dismissed.

The strikers and the union then embarked on an innovative campaign to win reinstatement. This involved a long-running legal battle in the Industrial Court and a mass action campaign which reverberated throughout South Africa and beyond. Some of the strikers were killed during the dispute.

The banner was used during a picket by members of MAWU of the BTR headquarters in London in 1986.

Materials: Paint on plain cottton ground.

Multimedia
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