Adapted from “Background to the lock-out at Canadian Pizza Crust Ltd”
The Support Committee for Indian Women Workers consists of community workers, trade unionists, legal counsel, and law students from the Parkdale Community Legal services, and individuals from other community groups. It was established after word spread in the Indian community about the the lock-out at Canadian Pizza Crust Ltd in Mississauga of twenty-two Indian women in October 1982. The women had requested wage increases promised several months earlier. Management refused and told the women to get out. When the women returned to work the next day, the company said it had already hired others and didn’t want these “stupid Indians’.
The women have worked at the plant for time periods ranging from 1 to over 6 years. On an average, they earned $4.60 an hour. Their shifts usually began at 4 pm, but they were never sure when they would end; anywhere from 11 pm to 4 am. In addition they had inadequate protective clothing, and arbitrary dinner breaks and rest periods, usually at the convenience of management.
