L Craft strike defeat rock, Report
Socialist Press1979 1979-04-25Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 12 →
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With the use of continuous management scabbing and half-promises the Leyland craftsmen's strike has been broken.
The last remaining strikers, at the Cowley Body Plant, who had just voted by 800-10 to continue the strike were ordered back to work on Monday by the Craftsmen's Committee.
The management, in order to get them to return, gave all kinds of different commitments about paying increases that would be due to the craftsmen under the new 'parity' grading structure.
Contentious
But the payments are contin. gent on the other workers accepting their positions in the grading structure, many of which are contentious.
This is why there is bound to be an offensive by management against the production workers in order to force acceptance.
In 'this offensive they will hope to use the frustration of the craftsmen against these workers, trying to blame the production workers for the non-payment of increasas.
Already toolroom leader Roy Fraser is attacking management for not having "courage and determination" in tackling the question of "craft differentials". He says this in the light of the specific opposition of the TGWU in Cowley to the grading structure.
Blacklegging
Management will be helped in their efforts to deepen this Fraser Edwardes - on attack by both the company and the union bureaucracy.
This is obviously an important decision, considering the AUEW is carrying out an inves. tigation into Fraser.
AUEW president Duffy has already made his position clear by asking Fraser to resign his stewardship in order to save the union leadership staging its own victimisation,
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