The Communist Party keeps Thatcher in office (continued)
Socialist Press1980 1980-12-03Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 8 →
Clean text: this article is by Alan Thornett, writing as Bill Peters. A transcription read against the scan is on the Alan Thornett archive.
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NO CAR GH THE REST offer.
Then their problems began. Edwardes only offered 6.8%. This, he said, was the final offer.
Caught. by Edwardes decision, the JNC called a convenors conference on 20 October "to sound out their views"
The meeting decided to go back and consult the shop stewards in the plants.
When the stewards met in the Cowley Assembly Plant they already had a mass meeting decision behind them.
The stewards mandated the convenor Bob Fryer to press at the JNC for a simultaneous series of mass meetings throughout BL, to be held on the same day and at the same time, to vote on a recommendation for strike action.
This policy was put onto a leaflet and circulated in the factory.
It was also circulated to the JNC and the convenors when they reassembled on October 27.
On that day the JNC met an hour before the convenors meeting. It adopted the policy advocated by Fryer. The convenors met and took a similar decision.
This was a very crucial tactical decision, because the key to mobilising BL workers was unity.
Sold out
BL workers had been soldout three times over the past year when plants had been isolated by the officials and were seeing unity as the key factor in fighting Edwardes.
When the mass meetings were held on Thursday 30 WE BUILD E PRINCESS FOR WAGESWS CAPINI SOCIAL CONTRACT SOCIAL CONFLICT October, the convenors, the officials and Edwardes got a shock.
Despite previous betrayals and vacillation since the claim started, there were massive votes for strike action.
All directions Cowley and Longbridge the majorities were overwhelming and in BL cars as a whole only 21,000 voted against strike action compared to 42,000 in favour.
When the JNC met on the following Monday to assess the support of the members they ran in all directions.
A motion to call an all-out strike moved by Bob Frver and Arthur Harper was defeated by a majority of one.
A motion from Grenville Hawley to call a two-day token strike was defeated by a majority of one, and a motion by the EETPU to accept the 6.8% was also defeated.
The JNC, the "leadership" had no policy. Once again they were miles behind the membership.
They went into the convenors conference an hour later with three motions but no policy.
After a battle, the motion to call an all-out strike on the basis of the mandate of the members was carried by 99 votes to 74 with 14 abstentions.
Seven days' notice of an all-out strike was given to Edwardes.
Workers became stronger after the decision. In some •plants that had voted against the strike, such as Rover, where the effects of last April's sell-out