THEY were smiling for this picture, but these young lads were not happy.

That's because they were apprentices from Glasgow's shipbuilding and engineering companies staging a strike in April 1937, in a demand for more money.

It began when 70 apprentices at Lobitz engineering factory in Renfrew walked out.

Within days, 500 apprentices at the Fairfield Shipyard at Govan had jolined them and soon 5000 apprentices from more than 60 firms were on strike. By the end of the next week 90% of the 14,000 apprentices from 130 firms in the Clydeside area were out.

The apprentices returned to work on May 5, having negotiated a minimum wage scale of 12/6d to 27/- (62.5p to £1.35) for first to fifth year apprentices.