974 Victimised 1977 Re-elected 4 YEARS STRUGGLE FOR PRINCIPLE

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The banner of new leadership for the trade union movement in the car industry was unmistakably raised last month when the existing right wing leadership was overturned in a shop floor ballot in British Leyland's Cowley Plant.

Defeated was Reg Parsons an extreme right wing witchhunter who was promoted by the right wing of the TGWU at Regional and National level in 1974 and installed by a national witch hunt.

Elected was Bob Fryer the left-wing convenor removed in 1974 and Alan Thornett, a Trotskyist who had been deputy convenor for six years up to 1974.

Speed

This result overturned four years of work by the right wing designed to create the conditions to reorganise Leyland, prepare for speed-up and control wage rates.

Although directed mainly from Regional level Jack Jones, General Secretary of the IGWU, was involved from the outset in the moves against the Cowley leadership.

It was his decision in 1974 to act on a witch-hunting letter from Parsons.

This was sent during a three-week strike of the transport section in defence of Alan Thornett after the management withdrew recognition from him as a deputy convenor and as a shop steward.

The outcome of the strike was an inquiry by the TGWU Regional Committee.

Cleared of charges

The inquiry completely cleared Thornett of all the charges levelled at him by the company-but found Fryer, who had never even been charged with anything, guilty oi bringing the union into disrepute.

1 táme was used to floor ballot. It also ordered a new branch to be set up.

The secretary and chairman of the new branch were to be elected at a paid mass meeting on the plant.

The right wing knew that the • continuous three-week witch-hunt had done its job and that Thornett and Fryer and other left-wingers such as Tim O'Sullivan had little chance of winning.

Big victory

Parsons' election was a big victory for British Leyland and one to whích they had devoted considerable resources, with the whole hearted backing of the TGWU The conclusion drawn by most left groups was that the Fryer-Thornett leadership had become isolated from the workers in the plant.

It is true that certain wrong, policies, flowing from the influence of the Workers Revolutionary Party in the plant, had played a part.

But set against this was their long and principled record in unionising the factory, raising wages, opposing redundancies and anti-trade union legislation, and fighting the imposition of Measured Day Work-forced in after a 6-week strike in 1970.

A leadership which fights on behalf of the working class will have periods in office and periods out of office; the important question is on what principles and programme is that leadership built.

The test of how firmly the Cowley leadership was rooted in the working class would only be tested in their ability to withstand the attacks of the right wing following Parsons' election and the way they fought to rebuild majority support.

Parsons had made his objectives clear from the start -to drive the Trotskyists from the factory.

In December 1975 Parsons Tom White, a Central Committee member of the Workers Revolutionary on his slate and with a much reduced majority In the same weeks Alan Thornett was elected as Chairman of the 5/293 Branch.

This was achieved under candidate withdreth in Paavons of Tom White-who became the right-wing nominee with a left face they hoped would be useful.

The Branch elections were the first major blow against the right wing since the victimisation 18 months earlier.

Tom White They were a shot across the bows of the right wing and had demonstrated the ability of the previous leadership to win support through the fight for programme.

This had been demonstrated by the support for the open the books committee in the months prior to the elections and in the fight against the 'participation' scheme enthusiastically supported by Parsons.

This was narrowly accepted by the shop stewards shortly before the elections through the crucial intervention of the Stalinists.

This was the first time the Stalinists had emerged in any significant way in the factory. But they were to play an increasingly important role as the main hard line support for Parsons. Branch elections was to call a meting of selected right wing stewards and members and to publish a statement throughut the plant sayıng a new organisation had been set up comprised entirely of those "dedicated to the destruction of extremism"

More substantial •The bureaucracy itself made more substantial move. They knew that the support gained by the left over the previous months would be multiplied now the Branch leadership had changed.

Jack Jones personally appointed David Buckle, Oxford District Secretary and a fanatical right winger, as official for the Assembly Plant.

The appointment was of particular importance because it completed a reliable chain downwards from Jones himSegional Secretary, Buckle as through Mathers local official and. Parsons as convenor.

Anti-Trotskyist

The importance of every link in this chain being unshakably anti-Trotskyist emerged as. crucial in the following months as the bureaucracy met the strengthening opposition with the only weapon they hadincreasing bureaucratic dictatorship.

On his appointment, Buckle abolished the Joint Shop Stewards Committee to which Thornett had just been elected chairman and set out to isolate the 5/293 Branch by refusing to deal with in on any industrial matter-a decision endorsed by Mathers.

Parsons publicly boasted that a "plan" now existed which would result in the Trotskyists being driven from the plant.

In August 1976 four shop stewards from the North Works were victimised by heir stewards cards.

It also recommended further reorganisation of the TGWU structure on the plant and gave the Oxford District Committee (i.e. Buckle) the authority to decide the shape of the reorganisation.

Tim O'Sullivan Buckle's recommendation was another new branch in addition to the existing 5/293 and 5/55 and the formation of a TGWU stewards' committee with a constitution written by him.

His mistake was to call mass meetings of TGWU members in the plant in an attempt to get his recomtheir support was at an all time low.

The TGWU stewards committee had been set up with a straight jacket constitution but they had lost the support of the stewards.

Strike action

This had been made worse by Parsons attempt to ban Thornett from a stewards' meeting which had resulted in strike action from Thornett's section and a mass attendance of members at stewards' meetings.

Buckle was obviously forced to the conclusion that to win the convenor's elections, by hook and by crook, was not enough-they had to control the stewards and the branches on the plant.

The support for their opponents was growing. The 5/293 Branch Report, magazine which had begun publication in May had been carrying the Branch campaign for a f100 per week wage plus a cost of living clause to protect the wage packet against inflation.

Their approach to the problem began to emerge at the October meeting of the Oxford District Committee.

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"Roche as Chairman provoked the meeting by dictatorial use of the chair. final decision would be taken the following week by "Senior Regional Officials". stand in limbo at Regionali Office and no one knows