Dagenham’s Ford Factory Strikers To Be Honoured In New Sculptures
The female factory workers who went on strike to campaign for equal pay at Ford’s Dagenham factory are to be memorialised in a new sculpture.
In 1968, female sewing machinists at the east London plant took part in the first Ford Factory Sewing Machinists’ Strikes, which led directly to the Equal Pay Act of 1970. A second round of strikes in 1984-85 got their skills recognised as equal to those of their male colleagues. Many of those taking part had migrated to London from abroad: a large proportion were of South Asian heritage.
The new public artwork consists of two sister sculptures, collectively titled The Dagenham Agates (Individually: Dagenham Agate 1968: and Dagenham Agate 1984-85). They stand at 2.1 metres high in the form of two oversized agate stones — one representing each round of strikes.
The eye-catching pieces are rainbow striped: Dagenham Agate is an industrial by-product formed from accumulated layers of car paint, which Ford employees would salvage chunks of to take home and make into jewellery and decorative objects. Dagenham Agate (1968) is composed of 187 layers, representing the 187 women who went on strike in June 1968, while Dagenham Agate (1984–85) comprises 150 layers, representing the women who joined the later strike.
Artist Ruth Ewan worked with local people to create the pieces. Scotland-based Ewan’s previous works include the Silent Agitator clock which appeared in London as part of Sculpture in the City 2019. One of her works was also shortlisted for the next Fourth Plinth installation.
The factory workers’ story was told in 2010 film Made in Dagenham, and later in a (too short-lived, in our opinion) West End musical of the same name.
The Dagenham Agate sculptures will be unveiled on Tuesday 23 June 2026, on Chequers Lane in Dagenham, close to site of the former picket line. Eventually, it will be part of a wider Heritage Trail for the Dagenham Green area.
