BL: struggle grows against latest closure plan
Socialist Press1980sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
Edwardes out! Thatcher out! were the main slogans of a militant 3,000 strong demonstration which marched through Solihull last Friday.
They were demonstrating about BL's plans to close the Rover SD1 plant in Solihull and to transfer to Cowley with a loss of 2,300 jobs.
The entire manual and staff labour force from the SD1 joined the demonstration. With them were shop stewards and militants from the Land Rover and Range Rover plant and sections of workers from other industries in Solihull.
The demonstration, which ended with a rally outside the offices of the Tory controlled council, was a clear demonstration of the militant mood of the workforce.
It shows that the conditions are now developing for an all-out fight against BL management over the current round of closures which include not only the SD1 but the Wellingborough foundry and the parts depot in Cardiff.
Mick Clark, the TGWU convenor of the SD1 gave a full report to the BL Combine Committee which met last Saturday.
He said the plant had been built only five years ago at a cost of £140 million (which at today's prices is an investment almost equal to the recent Mini Metro investment).
He said that the first stage of the rundown will be when the TR7 ceases production in September this year. This will mean compulsory redundancies in August.
"Lulled"
He said "many of us admit that we supported Edwardes in the past". The problem was that Edwardes had "lulled most of us" in 1977 and had then won the ballot for his survival plan.
(He was referring to the joint meeting of plant directors and convenors held in January 1978 at which Edwardes introduced himself and his plans for BL and got a standing ovation led by Derek Robinson. Bob Fryer from Cowley who opposed the whole procedure was then dismissed as a "lunatic" by Eddie McGarry—who has now taken voluntary redundancy).
Clark called for a public inquiry into the Edwardes plan and for a further ballot in BL, which he assessed that Edwardes would now lose.
Pat Hickey, deputy TGWU senior steward at the SD1, made a strong statement to the committee.
He said that support was building up, but eventually the only effective action will be an occupation of the plant. "Then we will have to fight".
He said that the SD1 were calling a Birmingham-wide mass demonstration on Saturday August 1 and were inviting other factories to join in.
He said plans were laid to try to press the national officers of the unions into support for the struggle and a lobby of the National Automotive Committee of the TGWU was being organised for June 18 at Smith Square in London.
He went on to support the call for a public inquiry into the Edwardes plan, an inquiry which he considered should be based on the labour movement.
Stressing the problem of getting the support of the National Officers, one delegate from Leyland Vehicles reminded the meeting that when Edwardes ballotted the workforce on his "survival plan" the CSEU had taken full page adverts in the national press to advise BL workers to vote in favour of the Edwardes proposals!
Nothing had happened since then to suggest that they had changed their position, he said.
Outside of the SD1 the problems of the struggle were obvious. No delegates from the Wellingborough foundry even attended the meeting (having called at the previous meeting for higher redundancy payments) and the senior stewards for the 500 workers remaining in the Canley plant said they were "lucky" because they would be getting the work from the Cardiff plant after it closed down.
All out attack
In contrast, Bob Fryer from Cowley Assembly again assured the meeting that no Rover work would be touched in Cowley Assembly whilst workers at Solihull continued to resist the closure.
A delegate from Jaguar Browns Lane reported on the all-out attack on the trade union movement at the plant.
He said there was a new plan for a further 1050 redundancies—which he assumes will be compulsory.
Management methods are fear and intimidation. They are saying that if the redundancies are not accepted they will close the whole plant.
He said resistance is now developing on the tracks, where management is imposing a track speed increase of 25% on the workforce.
The Combine Committee then decided to call a motor industry conference for Saturday August 8 in Birmingham to generate support against the closures.
This is an important initiative and comes at a time when crucial decisions will have to be taken inside the SD1 on direct action to defend the jobs.
The conference should receive the full support of the trade union movement in the car and component industry.
A further important decision was also taken by the Combine Committee.
Delegates voted on a proposal from Cowley Assembly to organise a conference of BL workers and shop stewards on victimisation and the attack on the shop stewards movement within the Corporation.
No date has yet been fixed but it will provide an important opportunity to examine in detail the victimisations—such as the Longbridge 8 at the beginning of the year—and lay the basis for strengthening and revitalising the shop stewards' movement in the confrontation.
*BL workers: lobby National Committee on June 18!
*Full support for the Birmingham demonstration!
*Mobilise for the Motor Industry conference on 8 August!
*Black all movement of work, machines or material from the affected plants!
THE COMBINE committee heard speakers from the South African TUC and from the Anti-Apartheid Movement speaking on the mass sacking of BL workers in South Africa.
A resolution was passed pledging solidarity with the victimised workforce and urging BL convenors to check if material was going to South Africa from their plant and organising blacking action where possible.