THE ELECTION of former Socialist Labour League member Reg Parsons as senior steward for the Assembly Plant at the British Leyland factory at Oxford has been given an enthusiastic greeting by the capitalist press.
A rapturous Guardian trumpeted: *Ballot clinches BLMC triumph'. The Times crowed: British Leyland has won a notable "test case" in support of its view that it is entitled to withdraw recognition and facilities from senior stewards whom it believes to be abusing their positions."
The election results read:
Thomett - 407 Fryer - 824 Parsons - 1881 Parsons was the candidate of the T&GWU bureaucracy, and the right wing at Cowley, and received the benevolent approval of the company. His election signals the end of the first round of the company's offensive and registers a severe defeat for the trade unions.
Since Christmas the compuny has broken most of the factory agroements. A speedup has been imposed on the assembly line workers and the depoty senior steward, Alan Thornett, has been victimised. Now a right-wing leadership has been elected.
This week the night shift on the Maxi has been abolished. There are strong rumours Bial cuts will Do made on the moducton d the Marina. At the Longbridge factory in Birmingham, BLMC has Just announced cuts in the Allegro, their latest model which was launched only last yoar.
At Cowicy there is already a pool of agement is hardly likely to go on paying them 142 a week to dig weeds for very long! Already the company is using the threat of redundancies 1e cow the cost of the workforce into accepting speed up Although the capitalist press has been quick to seo the significance of Parsons"
victory, one daily paper saw things in a "Leyland recognises Alan Thornett"
on to say: homoses victisa won anco because of the putient and principled light by workers in the plint, particularly in the Transport Department, to make the union officially take up the case.
SELL OUT
We would not detract at all from the stand of the Transport men in defence of Thornett. They held out for ovor three wooks in face of a vicious witchunt, the strike, a sell out hy the union burcaucracy. and the scabbing of their fellow workers. But Thornett's eventual recognition us a apa sued was a conceston oy the company to the union heresticrats in return for the carving up of the left-wing several hundred "surplus workers". The man kadership and the strong 5755 TGWU branchcompany'S job fot them. which is based on the Assombly Mant.
Workers Press Tailed to mention that steward and was barred from such a post in future. They madu only passing meation ALAN THORNETT (left) lost to right-winger REG PARSONS (righti post us senior steward on the night shift.
had such a feeble case and the Transport had no alternative but to call for offical action if Thorett was not recognised as Transport steward.
to get rid of Thornett as deputy senior over one post they knew that they would find it hard to maintain their case on the other.
to delay official action. Meanwhile the IGWU Regional Committee did the Thornett was not reinstated as deputy senior the company's complaints against Thornett, their report recommended the splitting of 3533 arnen and now acet cicemons FOr the senior stewards. of the inest important ou toome of the whole for the senior steward's post. affair — the conpany has got rid of senior steward Bob Fryer, removed Thomelt from last 15 yours, and had worked closely his deputy sensor stewards post, and Tim O'Sullivan, another WRP member, from his What are the crucial lessons of this defeat? The sabotage of the TGWU bureaueracy cannot be underestimated. The corpany reements with Foyer into haves of "principle" men give Thornett such excellent backing that TGWU national organiser, Moss Evans, The company were mainly concerned leaders in the plant PRETEXTS Evans then used a series of protexts In a flagrant abuse of che terms of the enquiry which had been ser up to investigate way for further attacks.
CONLEYIMG IMPERIAL STRIKE Rumours suggest that Weaver is at long last contemplating holding a branch The police have boen turning up in massive strebetb to intimidate the pickin the trade unions.
ANDREW JENKINS away tom un sactory ane back into the Leicester.
Normally the senior stewards have been elected by the shop stewards commintee, The aim was to cash in on the unpopularit defeats and establish a tight hold for the special macting of the Regional Committee, where hundreds of complaints against the union branch from a few disgruntled anembers were treated as gospeL Serious charges lovelled against senior steward Bob Fryer were blandly accepted, Fryer was given no chance to see the charges Delorensno. of to reoly to them The election offered a stark chaice a militant leadership or a class collaborationist leadership in the pockets of the union bureaucrats, Workers Press at first engaged in tabe bravado decring une senor stewards are not worried by such an dlectien.' Then, showing utter, gross Fryer had boon senior steward for the with the WRP. Thornett's move prevented The milanes from presentine a ociled fuc to the shop floor, virtually guarateeing The WRP elented recent tactical disse In a crude ateempt to justify their splitting bi the misitant vote they ined to slander Fryer's candidature by abeging that he was in league with Parsons, Had Thomelt stood for his former position as deputy sonior steward and backed Fryer for senior SIGWAEE MOUL NAME A WE Now the leadership is decimared. The vote wis above all one or no confidento in the undemocratic methods of the WRP With threatened redundancies on the way and more speed-up attempts by the managument inevitable, the nood now is to re-unite the militants in the factory around importane lessons from this internatiocal clear policies to moet these managoment attacks. A razure to do this will open up the in line for For tie first time since 1949. the Avnetecant owned Revion cosmetics factory in Maesteg, Sooth Wales, was closed hy a total strike, when the 600 After four months of truitless segotiations and a half day token sinke the manseement went over th head of the General and Municipal Workers Union, and fook their "Enal" offer direet to the waricforce. Within 45 minutes the plant was closed by strike action.
There is more invalved than a straight wage claim of L5 so E7. George Day, 1be Ca WWW And Secretary has been asking tor a thrushold agreement as port of the settle An IMG beatler distributed at a recent mass mesting put forward the demand for иm so, wa sue seep towards L sliding scale of wages, and look up the question of no9ll pay The Linion does make a lobo gesture towards equal pay by maicing the diEterence betaven male and famise pay increases smaller than asual! But alrcaly the company is regroding the womed worcers so at to make them incligible when the Equal Pay Act comes meo foes in 1975. With the wags cales at their present low level of L22.96 (male) and L17.0L (female), a fit rate increase and a nil threshold agreemest, plus a stop towards equal par, would not be an unreasonable would lie up the loose ends There wis quick support Eur the strike Dom workers at the comany s elang in the US and the militant Lille factory in France, which has pronind industrial arbon i their blacking of goods s not The young wortforce, ensecing majo industin selled for the first time wil draw solidaricy, and from the discusion around egoal pay and threshold apolmels There is abso talk of the election of a strike committee In the event of & pretracica sinke Clari their 25 years of praceful exploitation is aver for this internstions pompany.
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NALGO members demonstrate for London weighting claim in Hammersmith- collapse of official leadership means that time is nowrunning out