Calling in Management

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The assistant secretary of the T&GWU Cartransport branch in Oxford, a branch which covers a number of firms engaged in transporting new cars to the distributors and to the Docks, was recently promoted to a foreman's job in one of these firms - J. B. Henry LTD.

Since he was now part of management the matter was raised at the branch meeting and the correct demand made that he be removed as a branch officer.

David Buckle, the extreme right wing District Secretary of the T&GWU, ruled that he not only retain his position as . Assistant Secretary but that he would also retain his position on the negotiating committee.

One of the major groups of drivers within the branch then made application under rule for a new branch, because they did not want to attend meetings with management at the table.

This was refused by Brian Mathers, Regional Secretary of the Tranchant Tininn Following the recent decision of the T&GWU stewards at the British Leyland Cowley Assembly Plant in Oxford to adopt Alan Thornett as T&GWU nominee for chairman of the Joint Shop Stewards Committee a new struggle has broken out with the right wing.

Working daily with the extreme right wing District Secretary of the T&GWU David Buckle, who has just been appointed (with . the personal involvement •of Jack Jones) to "represent" all the car factories in Oxford, witch-hunting convenor Reg Parsons has requested management to withdraw facilities from the Joint Shop Stewards Committee.

Since this committee has been a thorn in the side of management for 20 years, and was the body organising the Open the Books rammittod inhish haa haan nt tha centre of recent struggles at the plant, it is not surprising the company readily agreed to this.

By this open use of management the right wing hope to break up the committee's AGM which is scheduled for Monday May 24th.

The campaign was stepped up last Friday with a major article in the Oxford Mail by industrial reporter Peter Sturges. Sturges is now not simply the voice of BLMC management but, as local secretary of the Institute of Journalists (the scab organisation set up as a rival to break the strength of the NUJ) is himself an active organiser of a strikebreaking force in the newspaper industry.

His article on the JSSC echoes phrases used by Buckle at a secret meeting of selected T&GWU shop stewards in the Assembly Plant days earlier. He writes:

"Objections were raised by the Transport and …General Workers Buckle] and the Company acted".

He creates the usual illusion of a left wing 'plot' by describing the AGM as "moves to revive the Joint Shop. Stewards Committee" and goes on:

"The JSSC is now being seen as a means by which Mr Alar Thornett can extend his influence".

By setting out to destroy a democratic Joint Shop Stewards committee and substitute secret meetings of a minority of selected stewards the right wing hope to win what they desperately need - some kind of base in the stewards movement in the plant.

But it is not as simple as that. It is difficult to win stewards in a plant with a history of principled struggle when you represent simply an arm of management engaged in taking away the things which have been won in the past.

This is the real conspiracy which must be exposed and fought in

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