Interview, Eileen Davies. Voices from the Factory Floor

Description

Eileen left school at 15 (1969) after doing her A Level in sewing and taught in night school etc, until she had her daughter and then she started in Slimma’s, Llandovery. The factory produced elasticated waist trousers for M&S. There were no cutters there and each one sewed a different part of the garment. Eileem feels that farm girls are used to hard work. They had detailed instructions (e.g. how many stitches an inch) from M&S. Eileen did some checking of goods, then became a floater. She wasn’t fast enough to be on the line. She also worked making jeans in the Lampeter factory. After leaving college she worked for a while in a small factory in Kenfig Hill making clothes from Welsh flannel. When checking in Slimma’s it was difficult to tell a worker to re-do the work. She became a supervisor. Dispute would arise when machines broke and the work was on stop. The girls had no ambition. Not a union member. The heaps of trousers absorbed the noise. Health and Safety – carrying heavy weight. Some of the girls went to the pub after pay on Fridays. They had a turkey each at Xmas. She left to get married.