Betrayals that led to BL offensive

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Editions by Edwardes will the 5/837. at the forefront of such attacks the TGWU.

sacking rupting a meeting of the union's attacks on the Stalinists and the union.

recognitior Thornett But the damage had been work during a strike over a the day.

Closed Cowley was All the elements are there this day set by the TGWU bureaucracy aken many years to build sacked. Robinson today-TGWU Robinson's victimisation still reverberating through the victimised.

To many Leyland workers, the offensive on shop floor rights and con.

appear to use a series of new techniques: in particular the secret ballot and brazen victimisation of Combine Com. mittee chairman Derek But these tactics are not new. They have been tested before in BL -and not only by To their shame TGWU bureaucrats have until now been of Derek Robinson certainly did not start two weeks ago with the nublication of the Combine Committee pamphiet "The Edwardes Plan and Your Job"

It started d7 years ago in Cowley with the victimisation of Alan Thornett Deputy Con. venor of the : Cowley Assembly Trotskyial always. attacks on are followed by the management withdren because had failed in "duty", to get his section back After a 3 wook strike which reinstated as atona s steward, but remains victimised Just over two years later in August 1976, four more ton were victimised Cowley-their "crime": a Brend ing a young Asian worker from sold out they remain victimised The role of the TGWU in opposing the Robinson victimisation has of course been stronger than that of his own But in 1974 and 1976 it was the TGWU officials at national regional and local level who led the way in attacking shop stewards and breaking up basic shop loor organisations which ha When Alan Thornett was victimised and subjected to a massive press and TV witchhunt-possibly more vicious than that directed against Derek General Secretary Jack Jones moved through the Region 5 Committee to set up a Regional Inquiry into the company's He used that inquiry to se off a chain of events which ar OF COURSE, I'VE ALWAYS APPRECIATED THAT THE NATION NEEDS SACRIFICES...

BUT THE ECONOMIC CLIMATE FOR REINVESTMENT NEEDS INCENTIVES. REWARDS FOR HARD WORK.. Midlands Region of the union In its report, the inquiry cleared Alan Thornett of all allegations levelled by the management.

But they found Bob Fryer the plant convenor, guilty of "bringing the union into disrepute.

Fryer had never been a subject of the inquiry. He was not involved. No charges had even been laid against him.

But this decision had a pose.

On the basis of this travesty the report recommended the breaking up of the most important trade union body on the Cowley Assembly plant-the powerful 5/55 branch.

Secondly it recommended that fresh elections be held for all trade union positions-not in the traditional way (at branch meetings and shop • stewards meetings) but by secret ballot.

They brought in this new principle, of which Edwardes is now so fond, because, as Edwardes knows today- you can win a ballot if you choose your time right and use the press and TV in the right way.

After four weeks of press witch-hunts Fryer and Thornett could not, of course, win the election. An extreme right wing leadership was installed.

But Jack Jones and Regionat Secretary Brian Mathers did not stop there. They gave total backing to the new convenor, Reg Parsons, who openly and proudly declared that he intended to stamp out Trotskyism in Cowley in the name of the viability of BL.

• When the four stewards were victimised in 1974 things had gone much further.

There was no attempt to cover up anything. Support for the victimisation was openly presented as the official TGWU position.

At the mass meeting which followed the withdrawal of their shop stewards credentials, District Secretary David Buckle argued that management "had a case" and fought (unsuccessfully) for a return to work.

The strike cracked after two weeks with the proposal for a further Regional Inquiry.

On the return to work Parsons told the press "we have finally put the Trots to bed" Now we will "drive them out of this industry* The Inquiry found them guilty and endorsed the Company's decision to remove them as shop stewards.

In August 1977 the same inquiry report was used to further split the trade union movement on the plant.

This time it was the 5/293 branch under attack, the very branch created by the bureaucrats in 1974.

Y'KNOWL.. I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THAT SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT THIS TORY GOVERNMENT • / THAT?? ...SO HOW COME HUGHIE THERE Its "crime" was that Alan Thornett was now its chairman.

They created a third branch But the move was ineffective. In December 1977 Alan Thornett and Bob Fryer were elected back to office by the very secret ballot system introduced by Jack Jones in 1974.

You would have thought Jones might have accepted defeat after 3½ years of effort.

But no! No sooner was the election over 'than charges were laid against Alan Thornett, Bob Fryer and seven others under the disciplinary procedure of They were charged with disOxford District Committee.:

Within two weeks Alan Thornett was recommended for expulsion from the union and the others with being banned from all office for life.

Yet they were all people who had just been elected to office by mass votes of the membership.

They faced a 15 month struggle simply to stay In April of this year the charges were dropped.

done. Victimisation of stew. ards had become the order of now with the Robinson case.

The precedents have all been -from the secret ballot to the use of the momentary mood, even down to victimising Robinson for a signed document (something which was a major feature of the ritual trials at Regional Office throughout the Cowley 9 period).

In addition management have seen the impact of victimisation on the plant.

Although the left won the election in December 1977 the shop floor movement had been almost destroyed in the intervening period.

Two years later it has only been partially rebuilt.

Last year, John Power, AUEW convenor of the Cowley BL Service Division plant was After a strike and a professional sell-out by Terry • Duffy (which he did little to fight himself), Power was reinstated, but not recognised.

The effect on the morale and militancy of the Service Division has been dramatic.

shows the function of all these events.

. The rot must be stopped! Robinson must be defended by all out official strike action, along with the six stewards in the Oxford area who remain NO, BUT SERIOUSLY... TAKE THESE CUTS FOR EXAMPLE. THEY RILE THE MEMBERS FROM THE N.E.B!

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AND CAUSE US ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS... THEY SACK POOR OLD