[The widely ignored front page appeal by Jones…]

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The widely ignored front page appeal by Jones and Scanion Despite Jones and Scanion's front page 'no strikes' plea in management's house journal 'Leyland Mirror", disputes continue to sweep British Leyland.

As previously reported, paintshop workers at the Jaguar plant in Coventry have banned overtime in pursuit of a public enquiry into the siting of a new paintshop in Birmingham rather than Coventry. Management have opposed the call for an enquiry.

Over the last week the Brown's Lane Coventry factory has been the scene of mounting tension between workers and management, leading on Wednesday to a situation tantamount to an occupation of the plant.

The struggles began on the Tuesday morning when management issued an ultimatum to the paintshop to lift restrictions by midday or face a total lock-out.

The paintshop stewards met and unanimously rejected this threat, reaffirming sanctions which have been cutting production by about 20%.

This situation escalated in the afternoon, when internal drivers on the final line struck work against a unilateral attempt by management to change the method of work. By 3.15 this had resulted in all final line and main assembly workers being taken off the clock by management.

After further disputes on the night shift, a joint day and night shift stewards meeting was called for 8 am on Wednesday. Contronted with a management announcement that payment would be again stopped at 8.30 am, the recommendation was for all workers to remain on the plant while stewards demanded the company withdraw the lock-out threats and resume OCCUPATION While this amounted in effect to an occupation of the plant halfleadership were extremely hearted about developing the action, and there was little attempt by stewards to organise a solid occupation while the stewards met.

As a result some workers began go home after the stewards had been meeting for two hours. Feeling intense frustration, and having by now heard of the events at Ford's Dagenham plant during the previous night, a contingent of final line workers at 10.45 marched through the factory to the canteen and burst into the stewards' meeting to demand action.

A quarter of an hour later stewards returned to section meetings to announce that while the paintshop overtime ban remained in force, management would restart the tracks in half an hour. The lock-out threat had been NOT FORGOTTEN These lessons will not be quickly forgotten by Jaguar workers. Future management attempts to impose lay-offs or lock-outs will be closely scrutinised by workers who have proved the power of the tactic of occupation to back the demand for payment and resumed ©Mirror No. 46 Renne terro woman Serember 15th 1976... "We Too of the track - luick stateracat In this context the call for a full investigation of management plans for the factory offer the only road by which Jaguar workers can begin to control future developments and guarantee jobs and conditions.

In the same way the demand for work-sharing on full pay to be organised under the democratic control of trade union committees is the only alternative to management's arbitrary methods and their attempts to attack workers sectionby-section.

After forcing their reluctant leadership to break from direct participation in management, Jaguar workers have shown by their continued resistance to attack the need for the building of principled new leadership in the plant prepared to take a clear and open stand in defence of the workforce against the Ryder plans for rationalisation, speed-up and sackings.

in the MiTTOr Car chief unges:

Think of the other 120,000 people in the Group Following their recent bureaucratic manoeuvres, which led to dockers lifting their principled black on the Barge Aboard Catamaran (BACAT) system, the T&GWU Number 10 Regional Committee has stepped up its campaign against union democracy on Hull docks.

Due to the reorganisation of the work-force by the employers, the annual elections of the nineteen stewards who make up the unofficial docks shop stewards committee were brought forward and nominations for stewards positions were sought.

However, in a circular to all docks employees, T&GWU Regional Secretary, David Cairns, while telling dockers that they had the right to vote for whoever they wanted, teminded them that there is only one officially recognised union on the docks (ie. the T&GWU).

In other words, you can vote for whoever you want to represent you as long as he is a member of the T&GWU!

However, the result of the election call was that the minority NASDU (Blue Union) branches provided 21 nominations 10] stewards positions while the T&GWU with a majority of the membership could : only scrape together 13 nominations!

Obviously aware that there was a strong chance of the Blue Union winning control of the stewards committee, Cairns cancelled the elections "indefinitely"

Knowing that the membership Eight workers at the East London Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association (PRA) struck for the day nearly two months ago, against the management's refusal to recognise the right of their union would never accept such a move, the T&GWU, through the docks District Committee, then wrote to the Blue Union pointing out that they had far too many nominations in proportion to their membership on the docks and asked them to withdraw a few (abour 17l) to maintain a "balance' between T&GWU and Blue Union stewards.

The Blue Union naturally rejected this demand (which was the first timé the T&GWU had recognised them in twenty years.

Now in an effort to stop T&GWU members from voting for the more militant Blue stewards, previously arranged, but the names the elections will take place as on the ballot paper will include the name of each steward's union.

As one of . the Blue stewards pointed out:

"This has never been known before in a so-called secret ballot. Previously, all stewards have been elected on their record of struggle over wages and conditions, and not on which union they belong to."

It remains to be seen how far the T&GWU bureaucracy is prepared to go to maintain their hold over the stewards' committee, and what additional plans they preparing to attack the Blue union in the event of a Blue stewards' majority on the committee.

It is important to defend the Blue union against the manoeuvres of the T&GWU bureaucracy. But even more important is for Hull dockers to join the fight within the T&GWU against - the dictatorial bureaucratic control by appointed regional and district officials - and for democratic procedures within the T&GWU. £100 to the work-in.

While the industrial aspects of the struggle continue to develop, an appeal to the Industrial Tribunal revealed some remarkable aspects of the much praised Employment Protection Act.

The interim appeal was dismis-

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A message from Jack Jones and Hugh Scanlon

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