TGWU funds pay for new bosses' report on Leyland

Scan page 6

TGWU funds pay for new W.S. IS NEL NIL STRENGTH TUND BL workers march in defence of Derek Robinson LOI EU MS.M TU cals A reformist trade union leader, as every class conscious worker knows, is one who accepts that capitalism is necessary in many cases thinks it is desirable) and sees his or her job as attempting to obtain a few concessions within the system-providing the system itself is not threatened and his or her own privileged position within it is maintained.

This political position lies behind the numerous betrayals which the leadership foist on the working class, particularly in a period of severe economic crisis.

Nowhere are such betrayals more clear than in British Leyland where reformist leaders face the issue most difficult for them-the crisis of profitability of the Company.

Acquiesce

It is of course not new for trade union leaders to acquiesce to closures or redundancies. It is not new for them to do behind-the-scenes deals and to sell out struggles.

What was new in BL when the Edwardes plan was announced last September was that the leadership of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (the CSEU) actually supported the closure of the 13 plants and 25,000 redundancies.

They actively argued that it was necessary, and railroaded the plan through the shop stewards movement.

They were themselves responsible for ensuring that the alas on arrantal hir amanicino BRITISH DDITIMET the infamous secret ballot jointly with the management. They recommended the 90,000 workforce to vote 25,000 threatened people out of a job.

Not surprisingly, this collusion, and the confusion it created, resulted in a 7-1 vote in favour of the plan.

This vote was quickly turned to full advantage by management who sacked Derek Robinson with the help of the right wing of the AUEW and the Communist Party-in this way seeking further to intimidate and discipline the BL workforce.

The "left wing" of the trade union movement, represented by the TGWU at the time, took an outwardly more militant line.

They loudly opposed the Edwardes plan. But at the same time they refused to do anything about it, preferring to hide behind the decisions of the Confed-in which they were a minority rather than using the weight of their majority membership position in BL.

They, of course, had no alternative policies to offer any way other than their standard appeals to the government for more investment and for the reactionary, nationalist policy of import controls.

Profitability

But Moss Evans still had a problem. Management were saying they were bankrupt.

After all, if the profitability simply was not there, and the market share was still falling, how could you force BL to continue to employ 25,000 workers that it didn't need?

Fared with a classical UNITY NEVE SPAS :02:203 AL capitalist problem, and devoid of any socialist solution, Evans turned for advice to the capitalists themselves.

He decided to commission a Paris-based group of capitalists —Euro Finance Ltd-to produce a study of BL and to advice the TGWU i on what its policy should be!

Accordingly on the basis of the very substantial fee paid to them by the TGWU, Euro Finance Ltd produced a lengthy report. It said that the major problems which BL has is the refusal of the TGWU to give wholehearted support to the Edwardes plan!

The report of course did not put its conclusions in terms as clear as that. They were couched in a mask of objectivity but behind this was their clear class position.

Partnership

The report 'assessed' the various options open to BL, and concluded that the best option for BL would be a partnership with another manufacturer with whom they would pool development costs-probably Honda.

The report criticises the Edwardes plan but then goes on to say that there is no point in even discussing various options to the Edwardes plan unless BL is going to survive-and it will only do that if the Edwardes plan is supported or management persuaded by force of argument to change it!

In any event the main point is to support the management. The report puts it in this way:

"At BL Cars in particular, the period 1980-83 will be critical. Depending on their force, short term shocks to BL Cars during 1980-83 could Grenville Hawley trigger collapse of the business, although more probable would be further sharp reductions in the fixed cost base, i.e. plant closures, investment cuts and manpower reductions".

Later on it explains:

"Support for measures to limit BL's exposure to short-term shocks is tantamount to support for the BL 1980 plan". (The Edwardes plan.)

Advice The report concludes by giving its advice to the TGWU:

«From the confusion of the current situation, it seems to us that the TGWU should focus on the questions of limiting BL's exposure to short term shocks and the crucially important LC10 programme.

This is not meant to imply that everything be surrendered to short-term exigencies and the LC10 programme. But it may mean having to face both ways at once [!!.

This is because the hard questions about BL Cars future under the 1980 plan will not go away, however much short term support the Company can muster, and however smoothly the LC10 programme is kept rolling.

But there will not be any hard questions about BL Cars manufacturing future if LC10 fails to meet plan targets"

Well, it is certainly not necessary for Euro Finance to explain to the leadership of the TGWU how to face both ways at once.

They are past masters at the exercise.

But what this conclusion to the report means is that Moss Evans has expended a large sum of union funds simply to be told what BL management have never ceased to say-it you don't knuckle under, BL will close down and throw you all out of a job.

It didn't need thousands of pounds to get that answer. Edwardes would have told them for nothing • as he has done thousands of times in the past.

The report, however, had a very big effect on the TGWU At the June meeting of the General Executive Council it was decided to continue opposition to the Edwardes plan:

"until such times as senior stewards have had an opportunity to assess the contents of the report"

In other words they will end their opposition as soon as they can get it organised.

When the senior stewards met shortly afterwards they were handed a document which claimed that the Euro Finance report "substantially supports" the views of the TGWU on the Edwardes plan.

This is rather bizarre, since the report advocated that the Edwardes plan be supported in the absence of an alternative acceptable to the Company!

Working group

The document proposed that a "small working group" be set up to draw up a plan for BL.

"Euro Finance have group could put the flesh on these bones and return within a month with a reasoned argument which would engage the contidence of all those involved"

What is needed, argues the document, is:

"a consensus on the way Eval forward" and a "declaration o intent" by the TGWU, by BI and by the government.

In other words, the years o 'participation' under the Labou government and Ryder, whicl did so much damage to thi trade union movement withi BL, are to be replaced by : joint "declaration of intent! with Thatcher's Tory goverri ment, designed to keep the fad tories running at all costs.

"Three years peace".

Any doubt about th seriousness of this turn or thi support it will get from th increasingly bureaucratise convenors, was dispelled by th statement made to the press b Grenville Hawley, TGWU Aut motive Group National Secr tary, when he emerged from th convenors' meeting.

It was necessary to hay "three years peace" at BLI declared. He thought this woul be accepted because "there ha not been a militant voice raise at the meeting"

The TGWU report that h been produced accepts t Euro Finance report in almo its entirety.

The exception is on impo controls. Euro Finance ma. the case tor import controis but also point out the conti dictions-particularly BL intention to become the spea head of Honda penetration in the European market throu the Bounty.

But apart from this-whil the TGWU report simply ignor -there is complete agreemer In fact the TGWU report i scissors and paste job clippings from Euro Finan and sections produced by t TGWU research department.

Scan page 7

bosses' report on Leyland CANLEY

----- pull-quotes -----

LEYLAND 45,00

sketched in the background", it explained, "a small working