Socialist Organiser

The weekly of the fused Workers Socialist League, July 1981 to April 1984

Rolls Royce: a vote To ena the

Socialist Organiser no. 63, 26 November 1981 · scan p. 14 · about 445 words

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AT A mass meeting held last Thursday (19 November) direct workers at the Rolls Royce plant in Hillington (Glasgow) voted to end their four-week old strike. The outcome of the strike can only be described as complete victory for management-and the harbinger of further victories for them unless the dominant influence of the misnamed "Communist" Party on the shop stewards' committee can be broken.

Instead of working to spread the strike, the convenor at Hillington, Communist Party member George MoCormack, acted in such a way as to isolate the striking direct workers, and thereby paved the way for defeat.

Foal

The goal of the strike was fixed by MoCormack as a pay-rise for direct workers, only, although the speed-up affected the whole workforce; indirect workers were excluded from mass meetings; the only support MoCormack sought from other plants in the combine was purely financial; and McCormack paved the way for the indirect workers' lock-out by having them clear the stock-piled production after the direct workers have walked out.

Dire

Management made the usual dire noises about loss of orders and jobs, sent out the standard threatening letters ... and waited for the collapse of this needlessly isolated strike action.

• The workforce has voted unanimously that the 39 hour week, now due under the 1979 Confed agreement, should be implemented by finishing one-hour earlier on the Friday. But management has said it must be implemented by knocking twelve minutes off each weekday.

the cost of the campaign al So now, if workers clc out one hour earlier Fridays (as their broth and sisters at East Kilbr are already doing int management will point three of the return work formula: no indust action until exhaustion procedure.

Despair

Both before and after Thursday's mass meet McLean, director of R Royce operations Scotland, publicly sta that more jobs will defir ly disappear, allegt because of the strike.

So, in the shadow of strike's defeat, workers Hillington return to face another attack on jobs, on the heels of 500 vo tary' redundancies pushed through.

And management r now be reckoning on get away with a min increase in this year's review, now overdue.

The shop stewards' convenor's elections are due at Hillington. opportunity must be ti to vote out those stew responsible for the fiasc this strike, and replace t with representatives com ted to union democracy rebuilding the militant t tion at the plant.

by Dave Snape Friday 20 November another phase of the course in Tory unem ment as the Edwarde:

fell at three centres o BL truck and bus divisi 1855 redundancies declared at Leyland, 13

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BL jobs axed

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