'lefts' Nail Participation

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Accusations against the Communist Party members and right-wingers who head the top "participation" committee in British Leyland's Cars Division were made at the BL Combine Shop Stewards Committee last Wednesday.

Delegates claimed the Stalinists and right-wing were being used by Leyland to introduce management policy through 'participation', and were then forcing it on the rest of the Combine.

The clash, which split the Committee, came in discussion of the next stage of the management offensive - the attempt to use the "participation' set-up to force in corporation-level wage bargaining conducted by national union officials.

Speaker after speaker attacked the decision taken by a management-organised meeting of Cars Division convenors held in June in the Longbridge works.

CORPORATE BARGAINING This meeting voted to set up a sub-committee to equalise pay review dates - a move which would, in effect, establish corporate bargaining in all but name, since it would not only remove the only practical obstacle to corporate bargaining, but would mean also that management could make a single oiler on the same day. The national " officials would then become involved if it was rejected.

Heavily under attack was Eddie McGarry, right-wing convenor of Standard Triumph of Coventry, who defended the work of the committee and advocated corpor ation-level bargaining.

In the words of the Special Products Division representative, the setting up of the sub-committee in the Cars Division had "cut the ground from under the feet of the rest of the Combine." The spokesman for the Truck and Bus Division said they too resented the move and would "reserve their own position"

PASSIONATE

Peter Nicholas, leading member of the Communist Party, made passionate plea McGarry's defence, saying it was necessary to "move with the times" and that Measured Day Work "did not turn out as bad as many of us thought."

In answer to Truck and Bus Division stewards, who argued that the Combine policy of opposition to corporation level bargaining agreed unanimously at the previous meeting) had been violated, Stalinist Chairman Derek Robinson said:

"You can argue against ou decision in Cars - but what you cannot do is change it."

He proceeded to rule that no vote could be taken on the matter...

Observing this battle and the resultant deadlock were two 'left' MPs, who had been invited to speak the end of the meeting -Tribunites Audrey Wise (Coventry West) and Tom Litterick (Selly Oak).

Litterick Wise made the point that the whole process of decision-takir e in Leyland was "shrouded in mystery" - telling how she had tried as an MP to find out just who does make the decisions. She pointed out the difference bet . een such a set-up and the nation: sed industries.

Litterick stated that nothi he had heard had changed his iew that participation was based o the "fraudulent premise" that it n cant "participation in decision-mak when in reality it means "f rticipation in someone else's decis 1S.

The impact on the platforr was visible when Litterick went i i to say that as far as he could see 'ere was "nothing in participation a rich would conflict with the workins of a fascist state."

Robinson leapt to the defer = of the united. right-wing/Sta unist alliance on "participation" , ar ting that:

"it's not that we like every ning about participation, but it wi the only way to save BL om liquidation."

*For some more of Robir ins choicer statements on participi on, see "Spot the Manager", , on p: