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Birmid Industries
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A group of foundries which became the largest employer of South Asians in the Midlands during the 1950s
Location(s)
Birmingham, Derby, Smethwick, Wolverhampton.
About
Birmid Industries was founded in 1936 to produce aluminium alloys. After the Second World War, the recruitment of Indian labourers became commonplace and, by the 1950s, Birmid Industries was among the largest employers of South Asians in the Midlands. Notable employees included Avtar Singh Jouhl, an anti-racist and workers’ rights activist who organized the Birmingham branch of the Indian Workers’ Association with Jagmohan Joshi in 1956. South Asians who worked for Birmid Industries fought for trade union recognition, and there were several significant strikes led by South Asian employees at Birmid in response to workplace discrimination and the inability of South Asian labourers to progress into higher-paying managerial positions. The scale of the strike action triggered an investigation by the Commission of Industrial Relations and the Labour government in the late 1960s.
McGregor, Sheila and Choonara, Esme, ‘Life-Long Class Fighter against Racism’, International Socialism (17 October 2019), https://isj.org.uk/life-long-class-fighter/
‘My Journey to and Life in Britain’, Connecting Histories, https://www.search.connectinghistories.org.uk/details.aspx?ResourceID=788&ExhibitionPage=3&ExhibitionID=809&SearchType=2&ThemeID=7
Wills, Clair, Lovers and Strangers: An Immigrant History of Post-War Britain (London: Penguin, 2018)
MS 2142/C/1/14, Commission on Industrial Relations Birmid Qualcast Limited Preliminary Report to Management and the Manual Workers' Trade Unions, Papers of Avtar Jouhl and the Indian Workers’ Association, Library of Birmingham, Birmingham
MS 2142/C/4, Trade union and other publications, Papers of Avtar Jouhl and the Indian Workers’ Association, Library of Birmingham, Birmingham
Image credit
© Remaking Britain: South Asian Connections and Networks, 1930s – present
