Mrs Barber

Mrs Barber manned one of the desks at the Department of Employment. In 1989, she had a deafening encounter with a mob from Baldwin's Casuals who had recently been made redundant when Maurice Jones bought the factory and demolished it. The girls had gone there to clarify their situation as neither Jones nor Mike Baldwin had accepted responsibility for their redundancy payments.

At first, Mrs Barber could barely get a word in as the girls talked over each other and intimated that she wasn't interested in helping them. At Mrs Barker's suggestion, the girls got one person to speak for them - Vera Duckworth - and, adopting a more sympathetic tone, explained that it was definitely Jones who owed them redundancy as Mike had sold the factory as a going concern. Mrs Barber's advice was to contact Jones and, should he be uncooperative, take their case to an industrial tribunal. The girls were then able to draw up a plan of action.