Behind the Cowley crackdown

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created after a series of amalgamations April 1974 — First victimisation of Alan Thornett: one month strike against by company not to recognise him as deputy convenor or shop steward. 1976 - Ryder Plan for BL: workers' 'participation' in management. October 1977 - Michael Edwardes appointed chairman of BL. 1 February 1978 - First Edwardes plan: includes 12,500 job cuts. 15 February 1978 - Closure of Speke no.2 plant announced. Beginning of a massive job massacre over Edwardes' five years.

November 1979 - Derek Robinson, convenor at Longbridge and chair of the.

combine committee, sacked for putting his name to a pamphlet criticising Bi plans. Immediate strike action (made official by IGWU), sabotaged by AUE February 1980 - AUEW inquiry into Robinson sacking finds that he acted irresponsibly, but sacking was unfair. Half-hearted official strike call voted April 1980 - 5 per cent pay deal for 1979-80, and 92 pages of strings, imposed unilaterally by decree. Workers who strike against this decree warned that th • will automatically be sacked: union leaders crumple.

November 1980 - 6.8 per cent pay deai forced through for 1980-81. December 1980 - Eight workers at Longbridge sacked after a stoppage and demonstration in the plant. Strike to defend them beaten down by threat November 1981 - 3.8% pay deal imposed for 1981-2 by trade union general secretaries, over the heads of the Joint Negotiating Committee, under pressure 1982 - Management pressure stepped up in the plants. Two-year pay deal forced through for 1982-4. November 10: Alan Thornett sacked.

OUR ALSIER Their development decieinn was a nrastiral nno. DJU wão a pravuivas taken in light of the body and assembly facilities next door to each other offered by the complex. But it was taken along with a decision to virtually smash the trade unions and gain complete and unchallenged control over the substantial investment they, were planning.

This, dovetailing into the general strategy of BL -broadly along the same lines — creates the kind of situation which has developed in the plant over the past two years.

• A shop stewards' movement of well over 300 has been reduced to denhle fiminao • Full time trade positions have been reduced from 20 lon both shifts) to two.

• Shop stewards' facilities have been reduced to a level where top management openly say they only tolerate shop stewards in order to use them wo operate the discipline procedure.

Or Socialist Organiser is not just a We fight to organise workers • Qu ards' 1 ally hel been l ards' I ed on 1 it suits • Th iplined attend, meetin • Co ined if ards' n workin;

• Shi been fr threate isation.

Man: intimid ively in This ment', never larterly shop meetings, try Id on the plan barned, and neetings only rare occasion the managem e convenors a if they call, 'unconstiti gs on the plan nvenors are they rall ahn! neetings off I g hours. op stewards amed and cor ined with agement by fi lation was pr troduced. year the 'blu forced in in 1!

effectively paper.

in the • stewaditionit, have | stew• allows when lent. ire discor even utional' It. discipln ateWalant in have istantly victimear and ogresse docu980 but implemented, was introduced. It gave management control of the workforce through the abolition of the seniority agreements, except where individual sections fought to keep them. At the same time the 'productivity audit' , agreed by the general secretaries during the 1981 wage review, was used to give management virtually total control of manning levels.

At the end of September this year, the Assembly Plant management began a policy of sending threatening letters to everyone involved in unofficial strike action. They claimed there had been 56 strikes on the plant since May - which is not surprising given the conditions, although most of them were very short.

Since then the letters have been building up, and the threats getting harsher every time. 'Next time we will take disciplinary action against you' ...'Next time we will dismiss you' ...'Next time you will be instantly dismissed' ...etc.

Spirit

These successes, howerel, are not enough. The spirit of the workforce has not been broken. This was 1968 - British Leyland producing firms..

leadership.

down at mass meeting.

sack all the strikers.

of threats from Edwardes. BKITISH Leyland is publicly owned. Yet it sets the pace, not for workers' rights, but for management gangsterism.

Nationalisation was not a way out the mad international capitalist rat race in the motor industry. It was just another way for the bosses to organise themselves for that rat race.

For workers, the only answer is to fight for workег control ine in ebb- adel Than fest sanential is full information about management's plans - open the books and end commercia! secrecy!

Having opened the company's books, the BL workers should work out their own work schedules, based on work sharing with no loss of jobs or pay. With combine-wide solidarity and the willingness to seize the factories if necessary, the BL workers can enforce this workers' control.

They can establish links with workers in the car components firms and in AL - -dL ine orner giant car nrms in Britain and internationally, to fight for a workers' plan in the industry in place of capitalist throat-cutting. The Leyland Action Committee groups militants in several plants fighting for an alternative to the existing sell-out union leadership. Con: tact: LAC, 194 Dawlish Road, Birmingham 29.

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