Leyland workers rebel at job-slotting decisions

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workers would become nart nlora HERESENO-WANY OUi to Socialist Press policies to defend jobs, wages and social services On Tuesday of last last week the Leyland Cars Cars Nadineal vaulunal vomt ivegotlaing Committee LCJNC) met.

This is the body that is 'orking out the job slotting ›r all manual workers 'ithin Leyland, in a new ational five grade pay ructure.

The LCJNC is a joint nion/management body. They were the ones who rst worked out the 60 benchmark" jobs on the asis of which every section f workers is supposed to be otted at plant level.

The plant level decisions len go to the LCJNC for adorsement or not.

Last Tuesday's meeting as going to discuss the windon plant level decision • place the production orkers above their benchark place, i.e. Grade 3.

УУ! 111 Mass meeting at Cowley asser The whole grading exercise is an essential part of corporate bargaining in Leyland whereby all wage negotiations are to be carried out nationally by nbly plant the LCJNC in pl. level negotiation:

Individual pl not only lose th negotiate wages i up would elis Trial sub (UK) 10 issues, only Six months One year ..

Europe:

Six months Rest of the World: Six months Please send me tria of Socialist Press. I Name. .

Address 2326K 2% in = =: ace 01 £ plant ants would le por wer to but tr lis setminat e all RATI future grading struggles, as future grading strugs gles, as workers would becon ne nart TY V of a national grade structure.

Needless to sa the LCJNC union side it s made up in the main of fi ill-time officials and their appointees.

Most Leyland proc luction workers are hostile t o their proposed grading.

They will get only a small increase to brin g them in line throughout Le eyland.

Since they are cl ose to making up an overall majority of L eyland workers, their low g frading seems to be in order t o keep the cost of the new s icheme as low as possibl for Leyland management.

The principled pr osition in relation to the grar ding is to get every section a is high as possible and thus raise their wages.

£1.50 £5.00 £9.00 £6.50 £8.00 1 sub/six months/one year enclose ...

We support the We suppo fight to place production workers into the highest possible grade.

If this breaks up the company's corporate bargaining plan, then that is all well and good.

But the policy applies equally to other sections, many of whom are dissatisfied with their grades.

This latter point was graphically illustrated last week when there was a lobby of the LCJNC by 50 or so leading stewards from the Oxford factories, Swindon, Llanelli, Longbridge and other Birmingham plants.

To coincide with the lobby the forklift truck drivers in the Cowley Body Plant went on a one-day token strike, saying that they would not accept their grading (4). This shut down all production in Cowley.

This action strengthened the hand of the lobbyers.

Four grades The result of the lobby was that the union side of the LCJNC voted by 11-9 that they were against the five grade structure and would be in favour of a four grade structure.

The LCJNC was due to meet again on Monday to discuss the union A lobby of 400 militant local government workers turned out in Norwich on Friday in a bid to avert the sell out of NALGO's 15% pay claim.

But no sooner had local authority employers offered a 9.6% increase and an "internal comparability study" than NALGO's right wing negotiators' chairman Mike Blick, agreed to recommend thè settlement to a delegate conference.

Thus the bureaücracy has finally run up the white flag in one of the last pay reviews in the public sector-with a deal position.

This will severely disrupt the company's carefully laid plans to introduce. the scheme by 1 November.

In the meantime, after Tuesday's strike and lobby nearly all the production workers in the Cowley Body Plant have gone on an overtime ban and work to rule.

Impossible

The right wing leadership have at the moment managed to control this move by turning it into a claim for payment for the Tuesday.

All of this shows that the company faces an almost impossible task if it tries to force its scheme in.

As the November 1 Leyland wage review gets nearer it will be possible to turn the workers' frustrations into an open wages fight.

This is something the company and the right wing union leaders fear above all.

They were hoping to use the low wage situation that they have created to get their corporate schemes adopted and so take a tight grip on the workforce. which offers NALGO members ¡ittle more than half the going rate of inflation over the next twelve months, and a notional 'comparability' increase.

Blick described the offer as 'the best they could get in the circumstances' The 'circumstances' faced by NALGO members are dominated by a toothless bureaucratic union leadership that refuses to mobilise the strength of the union to fight in defence of jobs or wages. • Before this time next year steps must be taken to construct a principled alternative leadership in this giant union.

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SOCIALIST A big boost to our fund came this week when the Oxford Summer Fair raised £340. A fine day and a lot of hard work from our members and supporters ensured a successful day. Socialist Press readers and supporters every section of workers in the public sector are at risk, it is small wonder that little press publicity has been given to the NCB's climbdown.

Meanwhile the forward movement. of the working class in conflict with its right wing

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