Vehicles strikers must tight isolation

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Leyland 1977: Corporate bargaining At the end of May the trade union side of the JWP put a policy statement to a convenors' conference, along with its proposals wage bargaining reform. These went far beyond its terms of reference. They were a variant on what-Lowry had been pushing for months, and were entirely in line with Ryder.

•This meeting of Leyland Cars senior shop stewards recognises the need to change our present method of bargaining in order to comply with the Ryder recommendations and the decision of the 19s00. words 'corporate bargaining', but BL knew the obvious: that parity and corporate bargaining meant the same thing, when linked to a common review date. Corporate bargaining had been agreed in all but name:

Having made this breakthrough Lowry wanted it endorsed by a secret ballot of the workforce, a technique he and Edwardes after him were to use many times in the next three years in BLcars.

In November 1977 a package drafted by Lowry was ballotted. It was presented to the workforce only in vague outline, before what was in reality a blind vote. It was nevertheless strongly recommended by the CSEU and a convenors' conference.

Ballot papers were acéompanied by a CSEU letter In April Lowry pushed a set of new, slightly modified, bonus proposals to another postal ballot. They were one of the few things actually opposed by the trade unions in BL Cars for the past eight years, and were rejected by the membership with a two-to-one majority.

1978. parity and the 5 grade system The next major BL thrust was at the November 1978 wage review. A five per cent offer (Callaghan's famous 5%) was conditional on the abolition of all existing rates. Grades covering the entire labour force, with skilled at the top and a £19 differential between skilled and unbe the cast-iron yardstick BL would use to determine the grading for the 120,000 workers involved.

By May 1979 the JNC had agreed detailed parity proposals, equalising the rates in three stages. Pressure would be put on workers by withholding payment trom each section until they had accepted the 5-grade structure and where they slotted into it.

Participation had played its role, and soon disappeared under Edwardes. In a calculated strategic shift, BL had noved from 'participation' to confrontation.

It met a shop stewards' movement greatly weakened and demoralised by PHOTO: JOHN HARRIS class collaboration, in bad shape to withstand an onslaught of hardline management. And Edwardes knew it.

A regime of fear was generated. Threats, blackmail and intimidation became the order of the day. Management philosophy was no quarter and no concessions. . It was an all-or-nothing policy which could be effective provided that the workforce, which was militant and had not been defeated by the employers, could still be prevented by their leaders from taking on Edwardes and beating him.

Next week: the last 2½ years LAST week mass meetings of Leyland Vehicles workers defied threats from BL bosses that continuation of their strike against job losses would mean: a complete shutdown.

Before long they: are likely to face that threat again-in the form of a typical Edwardes ultimatum; accept my terms or it all shuts down.

This will underline the need to spread the jobs fight to BL Cars-which faces the same Edwardes plan, and the same Tory government standing behind it.

But last Saturday, 6th, the leadership of the BL Joint Shop Stewards Combine successfully resisted attempts to create active support in the Cars Division.

A special meeting of the Combine Committee was requested by the Leyland Vehicles Joint Shop Stewards Committee. Reporting to the Combine, they requested "moral and financial support" for the strike but tressed that they were no eeking to spread the actio beyond the present striking plants.

A delegate from Cowley questioned this policy, arguing that whilst the Combine itself would not be capable of extending the action to BL Cars, the unions at official level could.

There is an anti-management, anti-tawardes mood amongst the workforce, he said. If the union leaders were prepared to make a stand, and say "This is where we make a stand against Edwardes" . the response would, be there. The same delegate moved a resolution calling on the Combine Committee to call an emergency conference of shop stewards from the whole of BL to! discuss support for the dispute.

Jack Adams in the chair said that he supported this as Combine Committee policy, but it could only. be activated if the request was made from the strike committees themselves for such a conference. This was a safe move since such an initiative would be controlled by the Communist Party, of which Jack Adams is a member.

There will not be a conference unless militants involved in the strike force the strike committees to make the call to the Combine.

Financial supportis important, but winning the strike means defeating Edwardes and his corporate plan, which will be difficult from just the Lancashire and Bathgate plants.

A conference of BL shop stewards could raise more effective financial support as well as making the strike an active issue in the Cars Division.

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