Shipyard losses stall Tory asset-strippers

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LETIGHT BLINDHO DE Send to: WSL, BM Box 5277, London WCIV The impact of the economic crisis on the shipbuilding industry has been so grave that it has forced and Heseltine-to abandon their plans to sell off the profitable naval shipyards.

British Shipbuilders made a massive £109 million loss in the year 1979/80-double that of the previous year.

‹ nurener The loss was £10 million over the cash limit set by Joseph-and would have been worse if the nationalised firm had not been able to include a £40 million total profit from the three naval yards-Vosper, Yarrow and Vickers.

Government cash BS auditors pointed out that without adequate cash support trom the government, the operation is not a viable concern.

The outright closure of merchant shipbuilling is a step so wide-reaching for suppliers and contractors that even the Thatcher government has held back from it.

Hence the retreat from the resale of the naval yards.

. But the old owners of Vosper, Yarrow and Vickers have been still further enraged by the retreat by the Tories from their commitment to allter the compensation payment system established when the yards were nationalised in 19/77.

But shipyard workers 'have little to celebrate.

Resign The management ofi BS headed by new chairman Flobert Atkinson had threatened to resign if the naval yardis were hived off.

Now they are threatening the workforce with "plans for economies and productivity improvement leading tr, reductions in unit cost"

In other words more speed Trial sub (U up, redundancies and exploitation-no doubt with the eager Six issues. assistance of men like BS board member-cum-vinion-chief Six months John Chalmers of the Boilermakers Union. One year..

Europe:

Six months Rest of the Workd:

Six months ..

PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report Please send me tria of Socialist Press. I Name.:

Address 6XX.

Chalmers:

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even the most pig-headed of Tories-Thatcher, Joseph