eliminating reference to the female rate. In a hearing before Commissioner Winter at the end of 1969, metal industry employers would not agree that any of the classifications where women were employed came within the nine points of the 1969 equal pay decision. Instead they demanded a lengthy and costly inspection and work value inquiry. In March 1970 they argued that women must be doing exactly the same work as males in the classification, and where the workforce was predominantly female, there was no case to answer. Despite this being a virtual restatement of the Commission's original decision, Winter found in favour of equal pay at the process worker classification, to be phased in by January 1972. The report "Union break through on equal pay" indicates that the AEU lodged its claim for over 300 classifications, although women were employed under only a small number of them at that time. In April 1970 the union's journal was able to report a success which reflected "the degree of activity which has been marshalled by the metal trades unions and shop stewards in support of this principle", i.e. not just by the women members. When the employers lodged an appeal against the decision in March, the union's response was that "we should each resolve that if necessary industrial action would be taken to ensure all females under the Federal Metal Trades Award receive equal pay with males". The employers' appeal was dismissed. The union then campaigned shop by shop for immediate implementation