Fords sell out denies us the victory we needed: what a lost opportunity!
Labour Briefing1980sTranscribed by hand from the printed page.
The Ford strike has been cynically sold out by national trade union leaders and the National Joint Negotiating Committee (NJNC).
The workforce has now voted by two to one to accept the management offer.
The only plant with a majority against the deal was the Paint, Trim and Assembly Plant in Dagenham — which voted 3-2 against it.
Shop stewards in Dagenham and Halewood, who had called for rejection of the deal, were furious at the sell-out, which came as European plants began closing down and the strike was 100% solid.
The stewards were right. The only change from Ford's original offer was to cut a three year deal to two — which means that the changes will be forced through in a shorter period of time. Everything else — the money and the strings — remains the same.
The acceptance vote was a direct product of the recommendation and blatant lies of the NJNC. There was even a claim that strings had been removed from the document by people who knew full well that this was not the case. A massive victory was claimed — yet every member of the NJNC knew full well that this had not been achieved.
Not only do the strings remain a part of the document but there is now a precise commitment by the trade unions to provide for their implementation within the life of the agreement. The revised deal states clearly:
"To ensure that there is no misunderstanding… Constructive discussion at local Joint Works Committees will start within one month of the application of the principles. Implementation will be ongoing as required and as appropriate to each plant, and with the full support of the unions in this process.
"If, in spite of your agreement to the principles, areas of difference occur in local discussions, the issue will be referred to the NJNC for positive resolution and may, if appropriate, be referred in turn to the relevant unions. With the above agreement from the unions we cannot envisage where these changes would need to be imposed."
So the real position is that the unions have committed themselves to support fully the introduction of the changes and management will only impose them if the unions are unsuccessful!
Knowing all this, Derek Horn, Vice Chair of the NJNC, told the London Evening Standard:
"People are talking about conditions but the simple fact is that there are no strings at all attached to this agreement. We have an historic deal…"
Nor is it just the right wing who are taking this line. The Morning Star was just the same. It quoted Jimmy Airlie, a Communist Party member and secretary of the NJNC, saying that Ford workers had won a "terrific victory".
None of this double talk should come as a total surprise. These are the people who have been in favour of the "strings" from the start!
Jimmy Airlie even said during negotiations that they were necessary for Ford to compete in the world market!
Mick Murphy of the TGWU last year enthusiastically accepted similar conditions in Austin Rover. In fact Murphy has been more honest than most in the Ford situation. He told the Financial Times:
"The importance of what we have achieved is that the company will get the changes it requires, but will carry the workforce with it."
Ford management agreed.
The effects of this betrayal, however, are not confined to the conditions contained in this particular agreement. "Flexibility" strings were introduced in the [l]ast Ford deal as well and [c]onditions in the Ford plants [a]s in other car plants involve [s]peed-up, victimisation and [s]ackings over work effort.
The Ford workers needed [a] victory not just to stop this [p]articular agreement but to [r]everse a management [o]nslaught which has been [g]oing on for several years. It [i]s this factor as much as the [t]hreat of the new deal which [c]reated the solidarity of the [s]trike.
This sell-out has robbed [w]orkers of that strength and [p]ut management in an even [st]ronger position than [b]efore.
Politically, a major vic[t]ory for the working class at [th]is time would have given a [f]ocus to a major national [fi]ghtback. The sell-out has [r]obbed us of that opportuni[ty] — although the present [w]ave of industrial struggles [is] likely to continue.
The Ford strike was a [p]otential major challenge to [th]e policies of the Thatcher [g]overnment. The same [u]nion leaders who make speeches about the evils of Thatcherism are prepared to employ the most cynical manoeuvres and double talk in order to pre-empt that challenge. The sell-out was a political betrayal of the working class as well as an industrial betrayal of the Ford workers.
Ford workers now have to regroup and reorganise. The issues involved in the strike are relevant to car workers whichever company they work for. Management's methods have been developed and employed nationally and internationally. Both Vauxhall and Land Rover workers are now poised for strike action. Militancy in the industry is continuing to grow.
A conference of car workers and shop stewards — an idea welcomed by many activists — to discuss the present situation and the way forward could now give us the opportunity to learn the lessons of the Ford sell-out and boost those sections getting ready for action.