R&JM PLACE LTD is one of the largest fruit growers in East Anglie, They supply all the large canning companies Smedleys, Robertson, Birds Eye. Their main farm complex is at Church Farm, Tunstead in Norfoik.
Earlier this month a strike took place ar the farm. Socialist Challenge has just recrived this report from one of the strikers involved. His story is one of strike-breakInE. shotguns, and attempts to run strikers down with tractors.
It is a story of explotiation many think doesn't exis in Labour's Britain. It does.
was late. The main picking didn' start until Monday 4 July. Some ing at the site at Castle Farm Wing for the rop to ripen. The stall ano of picking on the previo paid at ep per pound, but the paid 25p for every two baskets. For a full day's back breaking work most Dooble carned lour oi five pounds.
FOREMAN The next day the buses took us to the same field near Brandall on the other side of Norwich.
foreman changed all the baskets from 2.5tb, ones to silb, baskets, PIECE weighing each avoid being run into basket you were pald 24p. There had been a 20 per cent cut in our Everybody started to get angry first to shout that they had had bough. They walked off the away and everybody walking off, cheering each other.
CONCA TO CHICKS students, the travellers, even tbe ocal people came off — about 150 in all. We cathered around the weighing scales where there was a short-wave radio used to coordinate the picking from the central farm was to go back to the old rate.
The reply was soon radioed back - No We were all resolved to keep ur stand going but we bad thre In Prems, De Wa mone only one day's picking behind us most people only ha on. A second problem was our from the tion from the foreign workers at The tractor moves towards pickets — only because pickets dragged nach other out of the way did pecale
SOCIALIST CHALLENGE 28 July 1977 D.4
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Myou picked 1w0-0 pound balked ta go.