Cowley workers reject sell-out BL PAY FIGHT HANGS ON LONGBRIDGE

Scan page 12

Hawley: he rules struggle for living standards out of order I Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Workers Socialist League..

"Both parties acknowledge their unique responsibility for the success and competitiveness of the sole major British car manufacturer... On this basis the National Union Officials recommend that the strike planned for Tuesday '11 November will not now go ahead." . This highly significant statement was issued by the General Secretaries of various unions after they had met Michael Edwardes on Wednesday 6 November to discuss the 42,000 to 21,000 decision by workers to strike against Edwardes' 6.8% offer.

They never so much as considered the £17.21 claim by BL workers. They were concerned only to honour the commitment which they have had since the days of Ryder to the success of BL management The General Secretaries' meeting with Edwardes followed the scandalous decision of the BL Cars JNC a few days earlier to break their mandate and enter into two days of fruitless negotiations on the company's spurious "bonus" schéme.

It was no surprise therefore that the JNC, having already collapsed in this way, overwhelmingly accepted the advice of the General Secretaries and agreed to recall the convenors conference for Friday November 8.

There, they recommended that the strike be called off in favour of two more days of talk about bonus-scheduled for Monday and Tuesday 10-11 November.

At the convenors conference there was little opposition to what was clearly a total capitulation to Edwardes.

On Monday November 10, before the start of the bonus talks, a meeting of 250 shop stewards from the TGWU and the AUEW from the Cowley Assembly Plant adopted almost unanimously a resolution which expressed their bitterness and anger at the actions of the JNC and the convs noranti behind will them, the Cowley Assembly Plant convenors started anew the fight for strike action to pursue the full claim.

When the bonus talks produced no more than the original offer-f1.25 guaranteed for 12 weeks-TGWU convenor Bob Fryer bitterly opposed the move by the right wing to recommend final settiement on Edwardes' unaltered terms.

He pointed out that the JNC represented only minority view and therefore was not competent to take any decision which ran contrary to the 42,000 votes for strike action.

He was overruled by Hawley, and the JNC voted 14-12 in favour of acceptance of the At the convenors conference on Wednesday November 12 JNC members were barred from speaking, allowing Hawley a free hand to press for acceptance of the offer. Challenges to the chair failed to change this ruling.

The convenors voted 2-1 to accept the recommendation. But an important point was achieved.

Due to pressure Assembly Plant resolution it was agreed to put the recommendation to recall mass meetings of members rather than simply go over their heads as had been originally intended.

The first mass meetings held on Thursday followed a similar pattern to the original votes.

Unanimous

Workers at Jaguar and Rover SD1 voted to accept the offer and Drews Lane voted for strike action.

Cowley Assembly Plant stewards, meeting on Thursday morning, decided unanimously to recommend strike action to the membership and ask the members to endorse the motion of no confidence in the JNC and for a delegate conference to elect a new JNC.

On Friday morning the 11,000 workers in the Cowley complex voted overwhelmingly to reject the JNC recommendation and for strike action.

In the Assembly Plant the vote was stronger than the first Cont'd p.1