Made in Dagenham (2010)

Sally Hawkins: Rita O'Grady

Photos 

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Quotes 

• Eddie O'Grady : Christ, I like a drink, but I ain't out on the beer every night or screwin' other women, or... 'Ere, I've never once raised me hand to you. Ever. Or the kids.

  Rita O'Grady : Christ.

  Eddie O'Grady : What? Why are you looking like that?

  Rita O'Grady : Right. You're a saint now, is that what you're tellin' me, Eddie? You're a bleedin' saint? 'Cause you give us an even break?

  Eddie O'Grady : What are you saying?

  Rita O'Grady : That is as it should be. Jesus, Eddie! What do you think this strike's all been about, eh? Oh yeah. Actually you're right. You don't go on the drink, do ya? You don't gamble, you join in with the kids, you don't knock us about. Oh, lucky me. For Christ's sake, Eddie, that's as it should be! You try and understand that. Rights, not privileges. It's that easy. It really bloody is.

• Rita O'Grady : Look, I know you're not mentioning it because you're being polite and everything, but when we met in the corridor, well I was really upset, and I never usually use that type of language.

  Lisa Hopkins : Don't you?

  Rita O'Grady : No.

  Lisa Hopkins : Well I called Mr Clarke a complete cock.

• News Reporter 1 : What if Mrs. Castle says "no deal"?

  News Reporter 2 : How will you cope then?

  Rita O'Grady : Cope? How will we cope? We're women. Now, don't ask such stupid questions.

• Albert Passingham : This dispute's got nothing to do with what skill level you are. Ford decided to give you less money because they can. They're allowed to pay women a lower wage than men. All over the country women are getting less because they're women. You'll always come second. You'll always be fighting over the scraps from the top table, until you...

  Rita O'Grady : Until we get equal pay, yeah.

  Albert Passingham : Yeah.

  Rita O'Grady : What I don't get is why it's so important to you.

  Albert Passingham : I got brought up by my mum. Me and me brothers. She worked all her life. And she paid my aunt Lil to take care of us during the day. And it was hard, especially as she was getting less than half than what the blokes at the factory was getting, for doing the same work. And there was never any question that it could be any different. Not for her. Someone has got stop these exploiting bastards getting away with what they've been doing for years. And you can, you can, Rita, believe me.

• Rita O'Grady : All those in favour of not only maintaining but increasing our current industrial action by going to an immediate all-out stoppage until we get the same rates of pay as the men! Well, why not? Cause that's what this is really about, innit? We're on the lowest rate of the entire bleeding factory despite the fact we got considerable skill. And there's only one possible reason for that. It's cause we're women. And in the workplace, women get paid less than men, no matter what skill they got! Which is why from now on, we got to demand a level playing field and rates of pay which reflect the job you do, not whether you got a dick or not! This strike is about one thing and one thing only! Fairness. Equal pay or nothing! All those in favour?

  The Women : Yeah!

  Rita O'Grady : Everybody out!

• Rita O'Grady : All right, um, everybody out!

• [Rita gives an impromptu speech at the trade union conference] 

  Rita O'Grady : My best friend lost her husband recently. He was a gunner in the 50 Squadron in the RAF. Got shot down one time, on a raid to Essen. And even though he was badly injured, he managed to bail out. I asked him why he joined the RAF, and he said "Well, they've got the best women, haven't they?"

  [audience laughs] 

  Rita O'Grady : And then he said "Well, you've got to do something, haven't you? You had to do something, that was a given. Cos it was a matter of principle. You had to stand up. You had to do what was right. Cos otherwise you wouldn't be able to look at yourself in the mirror." When did that change, eh? When did we, in this country, decide to stop fighting? I don't think we ever did. But you've got to back us up. You've got to stand up with us. *We* are the working classes - the men *and* the women. We're not separated by sex, but only by those who are willing to accept injustice and those like our friend George who are prepared to go into battle for what is right. And equal pay for women *is* right.

• Rita O'Grady : Bollocks. I'm sorry, but it is. Three hours we've been sat here. That's what matters to the girls? How you're qualified to talk about that, I do not know.

  Rita O'Grady : [she pulls out threads of leather]  Have a look at this. There. You put them together, go on!

  Ford executive : Ford property, I believe?

  Rita O'Grady : Oh stop it! We have to pick all these different pieces and work out how they go together. Cause there ain't no template is there? We have to take them all and sow them one by one into the finished article. That is not unskilled work! Which is how you've regraded us! Christ, you need to take an exam to...

  Peter Hopkins : Miss O'Grady...

  Rita O'Grady : No it's Mrs. O'Grady.

  Peter Hopkins : Mrs. O'Grady I understand your grievances...

  Rita O'Grady : Oh I don't think you do! It's not difficult, though. We're entitled to semi-skilled and the wages that go with it.

  Peter Hopkins : Why don't you bring this to the meeting...

  Rita O'Grady : No hang on, I haven't finished. And regards to these cue jumping business, we put this complaint in months ago. It's just you've done nothing about it. And we all know why don't we? It's cause women have never been on strike before. You just thought you could forget it and we'll go away, well I'm sorry but it isn't going to be that easy, cause we're not going anywhere. We're gonna do what we said we would: no more overtime, and an immediate twenty-four hour stoppage.