Description:Mirroring the situation in other British cities, in post-war Birmingham black people were barred from employment as conductors or drivers on buses. Although they were employed in local authority garages and repair works as mechanics, they were excluded from roles which involved contact with passengers. Minutes of the Birmingham Transport Committee concerning the issue of 'coloured labour' provide an insight into the shifting attitude towards the employment of black people by the Birmingham Corporation until the matter was finally resolved in 1954.
Strong opposition by the Committee against the introduction of 'Polish, foreign and coloured personnel' as platform staff in 1949 (BCC/1/BE/24: minute 3564) gave way to a more positive attitude in 1951 which was thwarted by the trade unions and its members. Objections raised by the unions included members' fear of a reduction in their earning capacity and the loss of large numbers of existing staff if black people were employed, as well as the belief that women preferred not to work with 'coloured men' BCC/1/BE/26: minute 4960; BCC/1/BE/28: minute 6132.) Despite 860 vacancies for conductors, applications by black men and women were rejected (The Times 9/2/1954) and the organisation sought workers from Belgium and Malta for vacancies that could have been filled by black workers already in Britain (BCC/1/BE/26: minute 4880.)
By 1954 the Transport Committee was growing impatient at the lack of progress made on the issue. The Committee was facing mounting pressure as a result of not only the acuteness of the continuing labour crisis but also increasing public attention and negative publicity in the press. As a result of this it finally resolved that the General Manager "be authorised to engage any suitable personnel for service in the Department" (BCC/1/BE/28: minute 6283.) In March 1954 Raja Mohammed Shafi became Birmingham City Transport's first black conductor (Birmingham Gazette 24/3/1954.)
Despite finally gaining employment on the buses, once employed black people had a far from easy ride. Barriers such as the attitudes of passengers were vestiges of the colour bar that were not so easily removed. One man who worked for Birmingham City Transport, first as a conductor and then as a driver, remembers the reaction of passengers to a black driver:
" I remember in those days if I am not travelling in my bus uniform, I am travelling in civilian, I used to…it was the best ride I ever had on the buses, because when I sit on the seat, nobody sat beside me. People would stand up, they wouldn’t sit down and I used to enjoy it really! But it’s all been changed now and we…in those days, working on the buses, you’d meet some people who would come to you and they would insult you. Some of them would come and start to talk to you nicely and get you talking and then, “why did you call me, why did you leave, why don’t you go back there?” you know and I said, I just put it down to the mentality of the people, you know." (MS 2255/2/74 p.4.)
This photograph by Ernest Dyche dating from the 1950s/60s shows a Corporation employee in her bus uniform.
Author: Sarah Dar