ABC Radio National's Hindsight program will present a 60-minute documentary on the 1973 strike by workers at Ford's Broadmeadows plant, near Melbourne.

In the program, former metalworkers' union leader Laurie Carmichael describes the militant strike as a “match lit on wages that set off a conflagration”. Giovanni Sgro from FILEF, the Italian Migrant Workers' Federation and their Families, explains how the “bosses couldn't believe that migrants who barely spoke English could be so militant, more militant than their union”.

The 1973 dispute became infamous for the “riot” that took place at Ford's Broadmeadows plant when striking workers refused to accept a compromise pay rise offer from Ford management and return to work after a three-and-a-half-week strike. The militancy of a section of the ranks outflanked that of union leadership and forced a continuation of the strike. The workers were successful in obtaining an increase above Ford's offer.

The dispute is also remembered for the inter-ethnic solidarity of the predominantly migrant workforce that became an inspiration for those involved in the struggle for a progressive, multicultural Australia. The Hindsight program includes interviews with Italian, Greek, Egyptian and Turkish migrant workers and migrant activists.

Hindsight will air on September 22 at 2pm, repeated on September 26 at 1pm. For more information, visit <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/history/history.htm>. For Radio National frequencies in regional Australia, visit <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/freq/map.htm>.

From Green Left Weekly, September 18, 2002.
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