Women laundry workers tell how they went out on strike for a second week's holiday in 1945 and ended up getting it for all workers.
The strike lasted for over 13 weeks and involved around 1,500 workers, affecting 14 laundries in Dublin. At the time, commercial laundries were big business, with much of the laundry work done by women. The strikers' victory resulted in the right to a fortnight’s holiday being eventually extended to all workers.
Some of the women involved talk about the strike. There is praise for Helen Chenevix and Louie Bennett, the "strong, powerful women" of the Irish Women Workers’ Union who managed the strike and kept it all going. It was a "brilliant summer", with sunny weather just like the summer of 1995 and the laundresses enjoyed being on strike and getting their own laundry done sneakily on the side. They got great support from the public, and some even met their husbands while they were out.
| Title: | Blue Rinse and Starch |
| Clip Duration: | 00:04:27 |
| Material Type: | Audio |
| Clip Title: | “We Got the Fortnight’s Holiday for Everyone in Dublin” |
| Information: | ‘Blue Rinse and Starch’ was a radio documentary made following the 50th anniversary of the laundry strike. It was produced by Mary Phelan. Former laundresses reminisce about their work and the strike of 1945. ‘Blue Rinse and Starch’ was first broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 on 13 December 1995. The image above is from a RTÉ Guide preview of the documentary, 'Ironing Out the Issues', published on 8 December 1995. It shows a protest placard from the Irish Women Workers' Union, inviting laundresses to the Mansion House in Dublin, and some of the laundresses themselves. |
| Local Keywords: | Industrial disputes, Laundry strike, Laundresses, Helen Chenevix, Louie Bennett, Irish Women Workers' Union, Annual leave, Holiday entitlements |
| Coverage: | Ireland |
| Genre: | Factual |
| Topic: | Society and Social Issues |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Mary Phelan (Producer) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ Radio One |
| Production Year: | 1995 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | AA6287 |
| IPR Restrictions: | Rights Reserved - Free Access |
| Rights, Terms and Conditions: | Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Language: | English (eng) |
| Original Language: | English (eng) |
