SOCIALIS Convenors participate in speed-up and sackings

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The Edwardes plan for British Leyland, which was dramatically unfolded in a plush hotel in Kenilworth last week, means an intensification of speed-up throughout Leyland's plants. And it will mean the loss of jobs through so-called "natural wastage" and "voluntary redundancy"

Edwardes much heralded "reorganisation" turned out to be the old set-up under new names.

And the "decentralisation", announced amid fanfares of press enthusiasm, turned out in reality to be rigid centralisation, based on corporate wage negotiations at national level.

No details 12,500 jobs are to go from Leyland Cars, we are told. But no details were given as to which plants will suffer cuts, or whether the jobs will be pruned through cuts in production or reallocation of work.

The objective, however, is clearly speed-up.

The previous managing director of Leyland Cars, Derek Whittaker had made the point last October that Leyland regarded it "a matter of principle" not to compromise on manning disputes.

Support voted True enough, since then the Speke plant, which builds the TR7, has been on strike for three months over speed up and management's breach of the mutuality agreement.

In the Cowley Body Plant jobs on the tracks are being reassigned, requiring considerable speed-up.

And in the Longbridge plant management are ignoring all agreements in order to drive up work effort.

It was under these conditions that convenors from the 36 Leyland cars plants voted at the Kenilworth meeting-with only five against-to support the Edwardes plan.

Standing ovation

They followed their vote with a standing ovation for Edwardes.

There is no greater testimony than this to the destructive effects of 'worker participation' on the shop Published by Folrose Ltd for the