Power sacking a part of Edwardes plan to break

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John Power, AUEW convenor at the Service Division in Cowley.

Power is also District President of the AUEW, President of the Oxford Trades Council, and the prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Labour Party in Aylesbury.

He was sacked following management allegations that he overdrew expenses for attending meetings of Leyland's new National Negotiating Committee.

Until now Power has received solid support from workers within Service Division, where he has been convenor for 12 years.

Although he has been one of the most outspoken and publicised supporters of the Edwardes plan for rationalisation, speed up and decentralisation of Leyland, Power's sacking would strike a serious blow at trade union strength within Leyland.

There is no doubt management is successful in this attack, further sackings will follow as Edwardes tightens his grip on individual plants and joins with union officials to root out opponents of speed up.

Ironically, Power is due to appear tomorrow (Tuesday) at the resumed inquiry into the 9 TGWU members facing disciplinary charges at the hands, of Regional union officials.

Power as Trades Council president is co-author of 8 pages of wild allegations which could result additional disciplinary action against the Cowley 9, who are already charged with such heinous "crimes" as having deep political disagreement with the TGWU General Executive Council, walking out of a District Committee meeting and publishing the details of the 5/293 Branch Secretary's commission.

Among those subject

the TGWU inquiry are Cowley Assembly Plant convenor Bob Fryer and three deputy convenors.

Two of the deputy convenors face a recommendation that they be banned from all office, while the third, Alan Thornett is threatened with expulsion from the union.

Leyland workers thus face a deadly double threat-with both Leyland management and their own bureaucratic leaders determined that there must be no opposition to Edwardes who plans drastically to increase the rate of exploitation on the shop floor, and to destroy the independent strength of the trade union movement.

Power, who chose to side with the union bureaucracy against the newly elected leftwing TGWU leadership in the Assembly Plant could now fall victim to the same class collaboration -with not and stewards who are sucked into these senior levels of collaboration.

BACK PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report For the protection of both members and trade union representatives it is essential that elected trade union committees be established to vet and administer the payment of all expenses incurred in the course of union activity.

Such committees would ensure that no union representative was paid more than his membership and would prevent management producing trumped up charges as a pretext for victimisation.

A fight for this policy must be linked to the fight to break from participation, to resist the imposition of the Power Edwardes plan and defend jobs and working conditions from the attacks of management and the union bureauDespite our total political hostility to the political positions represented by Power, the Workers Socialist League stresses the urgency of resisting this attack by management on an elected convenor.

The removal of witchhunters and agents of the bureaucracy is a task to be accomplished by the workers movement and not by management. ' The picket line at Claridges