Cowley paint ey paint shop stopped

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After 14 weeks on strike workers at Talbot's Ryton plant voted last Thurs day to accept a company offer which is hardly any ent from that offered before the strike began.

The recommendation for for acceptance of Talbot's offer was Last Tuesday 600 paint shop day and night. shift workers in the Cowley Body Plant walked out on indefinite strike over the way that the new Leyland grading structure had been forced on them.

The production workers mass meeting two weeks ago rejected the stewards proposal for immediate strike action and decided to do the same as the rest of Leyland plants and put the complaints through plant procedure giving five days strike notice after this was exhausted.

Ever since that vote there has been disruption within the plant with sections walking out, particularly over the way that workers are expected to work on the same jobs as others getting more money than them.

This is what happened in the paint-shops where workers on grade two were relieving others on grade three.

Each time this happened there was a stoppage, leading to walk outs. This came to a head last Tuesday when the dayshift voted at a mass meeting of both 'A' and 'O' paint shops to go out until the company concedes.

This was followed by a night shift mass meeting which decided to do the same.

The paint shop workers are particularly angry as the parity scheme was supposedly brought in by Leyland to give workers on the same job the same pay throughout Leyland-let alone in the same plant.

This is now a fight against the right of the company to impose their grading structure as they see fit and if lost will lead to further impositions.

militants action to defend suspended for union policy.

They have merely asked branches to send messages of support to Liverpool.

'Militant' supporters on the NEC have given no lead and in a CPSA meeting in Liverpool 'Militant' members Frank Bonner (NEC) and Geoff Byrne (Department of Employment Section Executive Committee) actually attacked Kirkby Unemployment Benefit office for taking strike action-saying that they should not interfere in the affairs of another branch!

The CPSA and SCPS members should follow the example of Merthyr Tydfil CPSA Branch Executive who have sent a resolution to the NEC calling for all out indefinite strike in defence of the suspended members. YOU'RE STILL IN CHARGE!)

YES BUT IT'S THE PRINCIPLE OF THE THING!

Since the paint shops walked out the night shift press shop has also walked out over a símilar issue.

As a result of the strike 1,000 other workers on the Maxi, Princess and MG are now laid off in the Body Plant. Because of large body stocks the Assembly Plant is not yet affected but both the Maxi and Princess will be shut out there by the middle of the week. At Abingdon only the MGB is still in.

This leaves only the Marina, whose bodies are not painted in the Body Plant, unaffected but some small parts that are done in 'O' paint shop are being blacked, which should hit A full TGWU stewards meeting on Monday heard a report on the dispute and was followed by a paint shop stewards meeting which decided to call a mass meeting of members for Friday.

The local TGWU official has said that the company has made it clear that no changes in the grading will take place in plant procedure and that they are not willing to continue with procedure whilst the dispute is on.

ours.:

From back page geared to make sure that none of the other unions stood firm.

But despite these leaders the breakthrough hias taken place on the 40 hour week.

This means that shorter hours must now be prominent in every pay claim. With determination to strike, even bigger breakthroughs than that of the engineers can be achieved.

No wonder the employers are trying to play down the result, now saying that the 39 hour week was 'inevitable' anyway!

No wonder the Tories are quiet! In the first major industrial battle during their government the employers have been This strength of the working class should now be turned into attacking all the policies of the Tory government, to defend jobs through occupations and work-sharing on full pay and on wages.

This is the strength that nust be used to force this government out of office and defeat those elements in the labour movement like Duffy and Chapple who attempt to restrict these struggles.

This is why engineers must support the Campaign for Democracy in the Labour Movement anti-Tory Conference on 3 November. The battle is not over.

The employers-backed by Duffy and co.—will attempt to re coup their losses through speed-up and job cutting.

Engineering workers will need to face up to the necessity for a new leadership.

BUT JIM, YOU SEEM TO HAVE GOT IT ALL WRONGWE HAD TO PLAY IT CAREFUL- ESPECIALLY AFTER (WHAT WE DID AT THE TUC!) AFTER ALL, WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF I SUGGESTED RESELECTION OF UNION LEADERS?!