Interview, Shirley Smith. Voices from the Factory Floor

Description

Shirley studied in a commercial college before leaving at 17. She worked in a shop before joining Burry’s in 1957 (until 1982) – a textile factory – she was a shorthand typist in the office. They had an ancient machine to calculate the men’s wages. She discusses her wages, and the one woman supervisor’s wages – equal to the men’s. It was very noisy on the factory floor and the workers were on their feet all day. Poor conditions in the office; very hot in the factory all year. She names the factories open on the Treforest Esate at this time. Her boss died suddenly and the factory was taken over by Burlington Gloves. She was made redundant in 1989.