Fight Alfred Herbert sackings!
Socialist Press1977 1977-11-02Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 10 →
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Coventry machine tool manufacturers Alfred Herbert have announced the sacking of 460 workers.
The unions involved have been given a detailed breakdown of those who will lose their jobs-all that is missing is the actual names.
Taken together, the sackings will mean that Herberts are intending to shed 25% of its total workforce.
Bailed out by the Labour government to the tune of £68 million, just two years ago, Herberts blame 'lack of orders and 'foreign competition' for the difficulties they now face.
AUEW convenor Tom Doughty is arguing for a strategy of import controis to help Herberts compete successfully-especially with German manufacturers-and thus make the necessary profit to secure jobs.
This is a complete dead end for the workers now under threat.
TL - 1 - ma sea 7 fa= imarot As the crisis mounts Herberts will continue to claim loss of profits as a pretext for redundancies and speed-up.
A policy to defend jobs must start from just thatnot from some imagined common interest between workers and employer in the form of boosting profits.
The unions must demand the opening of the company books to find out if company claims are correct.
The information found there must be used to draw up a workers plan for production and nationalisation to provide the necessary investment.
An 'open the books' committee drawn from all sections of the workforce would help to forge a unity which at present is nonexistent.
In the face of a common fate, militants within all the unions must campaign for united action, including strikes, and the occupation of the factory to force the comnant to nnen their hooks to