Punfield and Barstow (Mouldings) Ltd. is a small firm on the Queensbury Industrial Estate in North London.
Among the items it manufactures are: safety helmets, spools for 35mm film, plastic egg trays, tampax containers, etc. It has a total work force of about sixty excluding the managerial staff. Of these forty-two are Pakistanis and Indians, one Jamaican and the rest either Italians or white British. Attempts to unionise the factory had previously resulted in selective dismissals, but by the end of February 1969 a majority had become members of the AEF. The struggle to unionise the workers had been led by Pakistani and Indian shop-stewards.
Since the second week of June all the unionised workers (42 Pakistanis and Indians) have been on strike for higher wages and better working conditions. It is possible that by the time this appears in print the strike may well be over, but it will remain a striking lesson of working-class solidarity. The scabs with the exception of one Uncle Tom Jamaican are all white and don't belong to any union. There is no doubt that the strike was inspired by the struggle of the Injection Moulders last summer (Black Dwarf No. 3). Racists in British trade-unions who claim that black worker's are 'no good because they put up with low wages and filthy conditions should perhaps visit the picket line outside Punfield and Barstow. For four weeks the union held back and the strike remained unofficial The mangoement
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