What kind of alternative for BL? (continued)

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needs un le- in April 1975 the National ent Enterprise Board effectiveas ly became the top management of the Corporation. try Sitting on the NEB were Hugh Scanlon and Harry Urwin representing the two main unions in BL the AUEW and TGWU.

Breaking Harry Urwin also sat on the Ryder inquiry team as the trade union repres entative. All this resulted in massive backing from the trade union leaders for Ryder, under conditions where the stated purpose of Ryder was to mäke BL a more efficient producer of vehicles by the more effective exploitation of the labour force, which could only be done by breaking the power of the shop stewards.

Its detailed objectives were to facilitate a major rationalisation programme, plant closures. ichieve less mankin levels" and "higher productivity" plus "greater mobility and interchangeability of The promise of participation also ensured that Ryder also received enthusiastic backing from the most prominent convenors - particularly the Communist Party who saw it as a "step towards workers' control"

As a result the Combine Committee was castrated and everything channelled through the 'participation' bodies - the Cars Council and the Bus and Vehicle Operations Councils.

It is true that 'participation' has done more damage in BL Cars than in Vehicles. In 1975/6/7, the Cars Division was the main target of management because it was making a loss whilst LV was making a profit. When IV stewards pulled out of 'participation' after management ignored them and announced the arbitrary closure of AEC in Southall, it had not been used for wholesale reorganisation as it had in Cars.

False

Despite these differences it is false to separate the two divisions.: A blow against the shop stewards movement in one part of BL affected the whole movement. When Derek Robinson led a standing ovation in January 1978 to welcome Michael Edwardes into his Jonisla new job as BL chairman, it undermined the trade unions and strengthened Edwardes in his role as an asset stripper throughout the whole Corporation.

In a similar way, when Edwardes sacked Derek Robinson, and disciplined the then LV Lancs convenor Len Brindle, it was a massive blow against the trade union movement in the whole corporation.

Clear

Throughout this period it has been increasingly clear that Edwardes' corporatestyle management requires a corporate-wide response from the trade unions if it is to be combatted. It requires a break with class collaboration and all that goes with it and to begin to seriously rebuild the shop stewards' movement on the basis of unity throughout BL, which would provide the basis to combat the repeated sellouts from the top.

Unfortunately the opposite has been the case. The Combine Committee began meeting again last year after more than a year without a meeting following Robinson's victimisation. The meetings