1982: Factory Workers Discuss Automation | A Moment to Talk | BBC Archive

A Moment to Talk sees production line workers stop for a breather, to talk about their lives, jobs and concerns. This edition features the quality circle of tobacco workers at the Wills No.2 factory in Bristol.

Chief among the production line workers' concerns is a rumoured increase in the numer of cigars per minute the factory will be required to make, with workers fearing that only robots will be able to deliver such numbers. Discussion then turns to a TV documentary about automation in Japan, and the wider Japanese philosophy of management. How well would Japanese working practices go down in Britain, and how much of a threat does automation pose to the workers?

Management are concerned about a forthcoming large rise in the rates that the factory will have to pay, which they fear means that jobs will have to be cut, leaving all of the staff very vulnerable. What will they all do if they lose their jobs?

Clip taken from A Moment to Talk, originally broadcast on A Moment To Talk, 7 June, 1982.

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