| Description | Interview with an unidentified man. He talks about the importance that people place on religion in employment in Belfast, the influence of Protestant organisations in industry and his role as a shop steward in the aircraft industry, at Shorts. He explains the position of the trade unions in trying to protect the rights of employees, regardless of religion, but considers that Catholic employees are reluctant to be militant despite being affected by discrimination. He explains the economic pressures that Catholic employees are under and their fear of losing their job by becoming involved in industrial disputes. He talks about the active element of the trade union movement being composed mainly of Protestants, segregation of Catholics and Protestants in housing, the need for people to integrate and gives his view about some of the recent student protests and their determination to make a stand against the police. He discusses the extent of the civil rights demonstrations in Belfast and remembers previous sectarian disturbances. He goes on to talk about the Catholic and Protestant population in Belfast and the influence of sectarianism in industry, and discusses the reluctance of the trade union leadership to organise strikes or to support people being discriminated against. He talks about his problems as a shop steward in getting people to support their fellow workers and his record of progressiveness within the movement. He recounts some of the insults that he has heard from workers in Shorts and their general lack of sympathy with the civil rights movement, and describes the way that they celebrate the 12th July, and the attitudes of many Protestant workers towards the behaviour of the RUC on 5th October 1968. He discusses the role of Belfast Trades Council in not allowing non-trade unionists to join May Day marches, his own religious beliefs and his views about the activities of extremists (tracks 1-13).
Total: 31.31 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF549C0132380 |