'op N "open Leyland's Books"

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British Leyland management demonstrated last week the crucial importance the employers attach to the defence of business secrets from the working class. After first offering to open the books of the Cowley Assembly Plant in order to "prove" their case for speed-up and voluntary redundancy -they kept them firmly closed when confronted with a shop stewards demand that the books be inspected by a committee specifically elected from the shop stewards committee for that purpose.

Leyland's surprise offer to open the books in Cowley was coupled to thet announcement of intended 2ü-:

speed up and voluntary redundancy throughout the combine which carried the implied threat of compulsory redundancy to follow.

In an attempt to isolate each plant the capitalist press and television, which have given massive coverage to Leyland over the past months, are suddenly silent on the overall figures of cuts throughout the combine. But it is clear that every major plant in the Cars Division is affected. Over 1,000 jobs are to go at Longbridge and in Cowley Leyland intend to axe 466 manual workers and 108 staff in the Body Plant and 730 manual and 130 staff in the Assembly Plant.

SPEED-UP

In Cowley the attack is severe. Management expect the 18,000 workers in the complex to accept these cuts with a simultaneous increase in production, in the Assembly Plant, of 1 car per hour on each track. This is straight speed u and presented as such by management. In a letter to all workers the Plant Director asks them to co-operate and "to work a little harder. Do you think that is too• much in view of the extreme gravity of the situation"

Under these conditions Leyland hope to achieve the cuts by direct attack. Their announcement last Thursday makes it clear that manning and relief agreements are to be broken and work study findings completed over the last 18 months are to be implemented in full.

5-HR DISCUSSION The announcement of the cuts was followed by a full meeting on Friday morning, of all 250 Assembly Plant shop stewards. The meeting debated all the issues involved for almost 5 hours before taking decisions.

At the centre of the discussion was the management's offer to open the books. The offer was welcomed by many of the speakers but a number of crucial questions were posed: How much information would actually be revealed? Who would they be opened to? Would the informatio had been sworn to secrecy over Ryder!?

Stewards argued that a publisted balance sheet would be of little value. Information declared must include the stock positions including finished cars and their locations - such figures are not normally disclosed. They must show details of their cash flow position, again crucial information which is not normally available, and full details of all expenditure. . It was clear in the debate that the strength of the policies developed resulted from the decision six months earlier to elect from the shop stewards committee an open the books committee to start the campaig for the books to be opened and begin to study the workings of BL - a decision which was hard fought, with the motion to set up the committee only carried by 102 votes to 101.

By the end of last Friday's meeting the only voice raised against resistance to the cuts was Reg Parsons, the extreme right winger installed as convenor after the victimisation and witch hunt of Alan Thornett a year and a half ago.

REJECTION

Motions were moved rejecting speed up and voluntary redundanc for the immediate convening of th open the books committee to prepare and circulate a report to expose the company's case, and a further motion that when the books are opened the open the books committee will be in attendance. These resolutions were carried almost unanimously despite the pleas of Parsons.

The open the books committee met and prepared its report over thr weekend, and produced 2,000 copies. On Monday morning the deputy convenors appointed to circulate the reports on behalf of the JSSC refused to do so and asked management to lock them up - which they enthusiastically did - pending a meeting of the JSSC sub-committee the next day.

Some of the reports however, which had been taken by the stewards before they were locked up, began to circulate in the plant and there was a considerable impact particularly arniid ana naramanh af tha 1 ansio