8 March 2006

"Timex: History of Struggle" - exhibition opening

Photo opportunity at 5pm, Thursday 9 March, Lamb Gallery, 1st floor, Tower Building, Nethergate, University of Dundee DD1 4HT

It was one of the most turbulent industrial disputes in Scotland's recent history - the battle to stop the eventual closure of the Timex plant in Dundee in 1993.

Now the trade union campaigns staged at the factory in its later years are to be recounted in a new exhibition at the University of Dundee.

"Timex: History of Struggle" has been brought together by former Timex employees and focuses on the work done by the Engineering Union (A.E.E.U.) and its members, who took a stand against a multi-national corporation.

The closure of the Timex plant was a key moment in Dundee's industrial history, as one of its major employers ended a 47-year association with the city, the last ten years of which had been punctuated by a factory occupation, steady job losses and picket line violence unseen since the miner's strike.

Documents, press cuttings, audio and video from the time, alongside artefacts from the protests that were gathered and kept by Timex workers, will be on display at the exhibition, staged in the Lamb Gallery.

Many of the themes adopted by the campaign organisers - the erosion of the British manufacturing base; Britain’s employment laws- are currently significant.

‘Timex - A History of Struggle’ hopes to give present and future generations the opportunity to look back at a small part of Dundee’s radical, diverse history.

All are welcome at the exhibition opening, Thursday 9 March, 5-7pm at the Lamb Gallery, 1st floor, Tower Building, Nethergate, University of Dundee DD1 4HT

The exhibition until April 29th. Opening hours are Mon - Fri 9.30am-8pm, Sat 10.30am-4.30pm

For further information please contact Jenny Brownrigg, Exhibitions Department on 01382 348017, or Roddy Isles, Head of Press, on 01382 384910

For more information contact:

Roddy Isles
Head of Press
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk