Chrysler-still no call to

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UPW telephonists' representatives have been summoned to Loughborough this week in a bid to persuade them to sell thousands of jobs.

A special conference on new technology and productivity was ardered by UPW delegates to this year's annual conference, who threw out a scanty report drawn up by the Executive.

UPW leaders are seeking to reverse the conference decisions of 1975, 76 and 77, all of which declared that no trials on new equipment would be permitted until a shorter working week had been agreed for telephonists.

The report already rejected this year had been drawn up just three weeks before the annual conference. One delegate described it as being asked to buy a black box which wouldn't reveal its contents for two years.

Road show

The Executive Council of the UPW complied with the request for more information by collaborating with the Post Office to send a 'Roadshow' touring the country explaining the technology on management's terms. The Post Office paid overtime money to tele. phonists to see it, so anxious were they for acceptance of the new equipment and for trials to commence.

The Special Report for the Special Conference was not sent out to branches until July 14, allowing only seventeen days to call meetings and send in amendments by the August 1 deadline.

Amendments were not circulated until August 21 and the Conference itself, called in Bank Holiday week, excluded many delegates on holiday.

The main proposal is for the introduction of directories on microfiche (VDU screens) which will result in speed up. Exchanges are given approximately 56 seconds to handle an inquiry-with microfiche this will take 40 seconds, which means loss of posts and jobs.

Microfiche is only a stop gap for the Post Office which wants to introduce something much more revolutionary: Computerised Information Retrieval System (CIR) under which all entries will be on a computer. finished. it can also be used to assess staff levels based on the amount of work received' in an exchange.

Although it will cut jobs and posts this system is a non. starter because it will be obsolete before its possible introduction in 1981. System X will see to that.

System X

A recent circular stated that the effect of the introduction of System X on telephone operating staff was 'speculative because no firm programme for the introduction of System X yet exists'. Yet it has been confirmed recently that the Post Office is geared up to start this project in some areas within the forseeable future.

The effect on operating staff of this nev: technology is devastating: 80% of their traffic would disappear. Only one engineer out of six presently employed would survive to work on the new system and it should bring the UPW and the POEU together in a united fight. It will also attack postal jobs as the more information that can be transmitted in printed form through phone lines the less will be the need for it to be trans. ported by mail workers.

Joint action

The POEU's recent industrial action would have been won with the UPW membership (who have had a policy of a shorter working week for over three years) fighting alongside.

Tom Jackson at conference this year was only prepared to we want something, there is no question about that" • he said.

The policy of the UPW and the POEU should be:

full pay with the introduction As the strike at Garners Steak Houses this week enters its eighth month, support continues to flow in to the strikers.

* Substantial pay rises protected against inflation (instead of productivity carrots that will leave millions on the dole and low wages)

* End of business secrets within the Post Office and its .....20 Right wing UPW leader Jackson suppliers (recently £9M had to be paid back from BICC who operated a cartel with other cable manufacturers/ * No sell out by the Union bureaucracy of jobs and posts Last week brought fresh confirmation of the importance of the f olicy of fighting to 'open the books' at Chrysler, as argued for consistently by Socialist Press.

Chrysler senior stewards reported that there are secret government plans for reduction in the intended output of the new four-door Alpine.

The car was due to go into production late next year with a projected output of 130,000 a year.

The stewards claim that the real figure is 60,000.

The company claims the project is still in the planning stage and that no ixact production figures could be revealed.

If the stewards' figures are correct, then hopes that the new car will lead to some 2,000 extra jobs at the Coventry plants will be squashed.

Treacherous

The stewards have demanded an immediate enquiry by the Department of Industry. "This treacherous call would simply put the whole business into the hands of the capitalist state.

Militants in all the Chrysler plants should call now for the setting up of elected committees to organise an, investigation of all Chrysler's future plans.

At the first joint union meeting of national officials and senior stewards since the Peugeot-Citroen takeover of Chrysler's European plants was announced, a four-point plan was agreed.

The plan places. four conditions on the takeover of Chrysler UK.

*The British government to have an equity stake in the Peugeot-Citroen group.

*A seat on the Board for a 'British representative' *A policy of "no closure or loss of jobs" in the existing Chrysler UK plants.

*A tougher planning agreement to replace the one with The meeting rejected demands for a BL takeover of Chrysler UK and nationalisation of the company.

The attacks on nationalisation have now also come from the Executive of the AUEW and from Moss Evas of the TGWU.

In other words these people who argue within Leyland that it is necessary to maintain competitiveness against other capitalist manufacturers are making sure that this competition is maintained so that they can play one group of workers against another.

It is no wonder that Chrysler workers wouldn't find anything very attractive in the Leyland combine committee's call for the takeover of Chrysler by Leyland, considering the same combine committee that put this forward is central to the "participation" speed-up schemes and generally supports all the attacks of Leyland management.

Tying Chrysier in with only Leyland also makes it clear that this would be nationalisation of only part of the industry-leaying the components firms to cream off all the profits-and continued competition from Fords..

By even making the call, the Leyland combine recognise this but won't go the whole way to challenge capitalism's requirements by calling for the nationalisation of the whole motor and components industry without compensation and under workers' management.

IMMEDIATELY after a 200strong mass picket mobilised on the gates of the Hickson and Welch chemical plant in Castleford had demonstrated the ability of strikers to stop ASTMS and ACTS scabs, strike leaders demonstrated their determination to sell-out the strike.

Under cover of a change in the attendance bonus and the setting up of a "high powered committee" to discuss a prodictivity deal they moved in to obtain a return to work.

Strikers, who had seen the action as a fight for a wage increase in excess of Phase 4 limits, were incensed at this betrayal, though stewards argue that they have won "the right to negotiate" with management.

----- pull-quotes -----

act as a dead weight on the POEU. "If they get something

* No loss of jobs or posts * A shorter working week on

PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report of new technology