[fund When Lord Mountbatten was blown up in…]

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fund When Lord Mountbatten was blown up in his boat nearly 18 months ago the media had him dubbed as one of the most popular figures of the ruling class.

Hours of TV and radio time, acres of newsprint detailed his achievements, his lovability, and the reverence with which he was regarded.

Then a: Mountbatten Memorial Trust was launched under the patronage of Prince Charles, another folk hero according to the media.

But-like the Airey Neave memorial fund-it flopped. The masses failed to respond and the obscure United Nations college in Glamorgan looked like failing to cash in grisly death.

As anyone who watched the recent Ludovick Kennedy series on Mountbatten can confirm, Mountbatten-if he had been alive to supervise his own memorial fund-would by now have sacked the Prince of Wales and demoted half the Lord Lieutenants of Britain.

But the government has come to the rescue. As it imposed the 6% pay limit and discussed whether it could break the link between old age pensions and the Retail Price Index, it calmly announced a £100,000 government grand to the fund.

Nice to know that the public spending crisis does not apply to memorials to imperialism.

The Tory announcement of a further two years of rigid wage controls in the public sector add still further urgency to the struggle for mass action against the cutbacks in local government spending.

In Lambeth, local authority trade unionists from the AUEW and TGWU have taken the lead in calling for strike action to last "a minimum of two weeks" from February 2 (as reported in last week's Socialist Press).

This stand has been supported by the Lambeth Labour Council. It is the first substantial initiative for • industrial action against local government cuts-and the Lambeth unions are calling for workers all over the country to join them in the fight against: the Thatcher Meanwhile the Lambeth steering committee has changed the date for the recall of the delegate conference, which drew together over 700 trade unionists and Labour activists on 1 November.

To give additional time to win wide support, the recall conference has been postponed from January 17 to January 31 in London. i This means that it will be held on the eve of the Lambeth strike, and just one week after the Labour Party Special Conference.

Turning point

As such the Lambeth conference will take place at a crucial turning point in the struggle for action to defeat the Thatcher government.

We urge all readers to raise this conference in their unions and Labour Parties and to fight now for the widest possible strike action throughout the Further details of the Lambeth campaign and the recall conference, and requests for speakers from the Steering Committee to attend local meetings should be addressed to: Local Government in Crisis Steering Group, c/o Room 103, Lambeth Town Hall, Brixton Hil,_ London SW2 1RW. Tel. 01-274 7122 ext 2066.

workers' from February.

*CORRECTION: Last week's report wrongly stated that Lambeth NALGO had voted to support the February 2 •strike. This was based on false information: While the 1,750 NALGO members are committed in geheral to act against the cuts, they will not be discussing this specific strike call until next month.

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Page 6 SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday December 10 1980.

Let us begin our analysis of labour-management relations at Nissan by examining the organisational structure of the Nissan Workers' Union.

One especially noteworthy aspect of how the union is organised and administered is the procedure for electing union representatives. Referring to the balloting system for election of union officers, the union's charter prescribes in Article 27 that they should be elected through "direct and secret voting by the members"

'Secret voting' Theoretically, "secret voting" should mean a voting 1. Tabulated from Nissan Wor system in which a member is 491,495, 522 and 545. free to choose a candidate of 2. "Average percentage of votes gathered by a successful candidate" refers to the percentage of valid votes "Average percentage of votı his own choice without interference from any other persons.

Actually, however, the election of Nissan Workers? Union's Voting figures "secret" ballot officers is far from secret.

In the first place, at each )ne rationalisation for th begin with, collective bargaining election both the percentage of urveillance is that the existenc at Nissan Motor is essentially a voters who cast their votes medium for determining "dis- What is especially striking (99.72-99.99%) and the percen- tage of votes gained by the elec- sady ship union to would "reveal dis- tribution" of the wealth about these cases is that they all produced. It is also a forum for resulted in "full attainment of ted officers 98.58-100%) are Another more "negotiations between labour the increase demanded"; the unusually high. and management" on the "con- wage increments "demanded"

interesume reason Is unlal lowSecond, the very high ranking supervisors union ditions of labour such as. by labour were completely idenpercentage of votes obtained by officers intervene in the ballot- tical with the amounts "agreed fact that ordinary union ing to allow chical lots each elected officer is due to the More specifically, it is the upon" by management.

channel Ior negotiations on the Datsun workers take a tea-break members cast their votes under Cast elecuor summer and year end annual spring "wage increase", • Two sessions olose surveillance. Let me cite districts would mean that their some members' testimony. control over the rank. and file "bonuses" , reduced working Mr. Z at Nissan Motor's members is ineffective. hours, older retirement ages, What is more, each Oppama Plant states: collective bargaining sessi "When we vote. we are asked Written apology What is important to note were held only twice: the 1 to gather around the super- here is that the "production" meeting was for the union visor's desk in a group of several and "distribution" of wealth are explain its request, and for If the voter turnout is low or company to present its vi at a time and write out our vot- if votes critical of union leader- mechanically treated separately ing slips right on the spot, on ship are cast, the shop steward on the basis of an understanding and the second meeting was the desk, in front of everybody. in charge of the district is forced The desk is an ordinary office ment share a common interest that both labour and manage- proposed wage increase wl the company to present desk of about one metre in called a "summary statement to submit a written apology in increased "production" of was exactly the same as width. And standing beside the of resolution" to the union, and wealth, and that the interests of union's demand. •desk are the election adminis- manager and the shop steward, for the low ranking union trators, I mean, the assistant is criticised for neglect of duty It is then only too natural the two parties can differ only with regard to the question of how that wealth should be increase demanded" after c two sessions of collective "Full attainment of who watch closely to see if we officers to intervene in the elec- gaining-this is the prototyp write down the right name." collective bargaining at Nissa:

Mr Y at the company head the union members under their tion process and see to it that Full attainment Third, what are the reas for this type of collective 1 charge refrain from casting votes "If blank votes or invalid votes are found, the shop stew- critical of the union leadership. Second, let us look at the One is that the process ard is forced to submit a written Structure of Labour-Manage- prototype of collective bargain- collective bargaining actu apology union ment Relations. ing practiced at Nissan since the consists of very carefi leaders. That is why he keeps an The present organisation of defeat of the 1953, major strike. arranged sub-processes, 1e. p eye on how we fill in the voting labour-management relations at The series of collective bar- information gathering by b slips. He even fills out the Nissan since the big strike of gaining carried out in the two submission of a request by baliots for new employees, say- 1953 consists of three compon- periods from 1955 till the oil union; collective bargain ing that the ents: collective bargainu crisis resulted in "full attain- negotiations on details at characters or that they may not santanon: ana ment the increase secretarial level; and final ag know who the candidates are." personnel affairs. Each of these As these accounts of ordin- channels of labour-management Typical examples of collec- Furthermore, these prep: ary members show, surveillance relations has the characteristics tive bargaining are those held in tory contacts take place, of of voting in union elections at as explained below. the "struggles for periodical the company officials in cha Nissan is a common practice. a) Collective bargaining: To wage increases" (from 196° of labour management and "career" union officers 1 those union leaders who o held positions in the dep ment in charge of lab management), and •someti even between the compar top executives and chairmar the Jidosha Roren (Federat of Japan Automobile Work Unions-FJAWU) . Shoji Ict and other top union lead However many stages th ing into collective bargaining, We are left with the latter may be in the process of col has a full knowledge of the possibility: "full attainment of. tive bargaining, that alone c amount of wage increase it will the increase demanded" has not ensure "full attainment be able to obtain, and thus been possible only because the the increase demanded" dellberately retrains trom union has always kept its requesting more from the com- demand at a level acceptable to Achieved fully Judging trom the balance of That the union has alw power between labour and "Consultation' been able to achieve its dema management that has prevailed perfectly at the tables of col in Japanese capitalism since the b) Consultation: Among consultive bargaining and thro mid 1950s, and especially at tation activities, those directly other preparatory negotiati Nissan since the defeat of the concerned with working condiwithout meeting any seri Nissan Local of the National tions are called "consultations opposition from the comp: Union of Automobile Workers on the details of the produccan mean only one of in the 1953 strike, the former possibility may be precluded. At Nissan, consultation Either the union is it It should also be kept in dealing with the productis dominant bargaining posit mind that there has never been system are held at four kas and the company is powerl a strike at Nissan in the past 2s *1 IT: -- - - 1 AF centa consulate it-* On the production track or the union, even before en which meets twice a sex a Organisational Structure Labour Union Date of election August 1972 August 1973 August 1974 August 1975 August 1976 February 1977 August 1978 Notes in office states: ommittee ers to be ected Wages". etc.

Rio.of didates 193.

Hat "distributed" demanded" Nissan nmitter No. of .

eligible votes 52,908 63,653 65,131 66,115 67,719 9,333 71,737 'usu (DE % of votes cast 99.72 99.75 99.78 99.94 99.97 99.99 99.96 elopmen1 % of valid votes 99.08 99.08 99.32 99.44 99.74 99.85 99.90 (WS), ... EA Average % of v gathered by uccessful cand 98.58 98.59 98.83 99.00 99.48 100.00 99.69 these were renamed struggles"). gaining? ment. things., "Wage year ions first i to the ews;

for its rich the the only bare of ions bar; of ally ully rior oth the ing; the reearaiten een tIge the nce OUI ry's 1 of tion liro lere lecran: of pany. the company.

rays nds lecugh ons ous any tion system." two ion ter- years.