THE RACIALIZATION OF LABOR IN POSTWAR BRADFORD

Focusing on Bradford's textile industry, the paper examines changing "racial" divisions of labour within post-war Britain. Faced with a shortage of labour at the end of the Second World War Bradford's mill owners and managers turned first to southern and central Europe to compensate for the insufficient supply of local labour. As these sources also proved inadequate, they began to recruit from the Indian sub-continent, particularly from Mirpur in Pakistan. Within a generation, the "racial" and gender composition of Bradford's textile labour force was transformed as Pakistani men increasingly replaced white women. Using company records, oral histories and other sources, this paper examines how this transition was handled, as managers, unions and workers drew selectively on different constructions of "race" and gender. The current and future implications of this largely historical research are also discussed. © 1992.