Leyland: Passport to International Repression

LEYLAND:

PASSPORT TO

INTERNATIONAI

REPRESSION

By Bob Sutcliffe. Desp_te the financial catastrophe some of its subsidiaries (in Spain Australia), British Leyland rema international company. And, where ates, it shows the same arrogant workers' demands as it shows in ever suffered by Italy and ins a vast ver it oper hostility to y dispute in Britain. In Italy on the complete tried to sack all Although th the way of th elected factor plant. After five refused to pay workers, the o November 261 closure of its 4,500 workers. e company put every possi e workers' organisations, / council, the workers 975 Leyland annou Innocenti workers nced and ble obstacle especially t occupied t in ne he bitter months, during which Leyland a penny in compensation to the sacked ccupation ended because of the betrayal of the Italian Communict Party Than cooked up a deal with the capitalists to rescue' the facto left the workers without a threa government and ry - an agreemen d of security. Italian which Leyland pre e to operate in counti activities of th workers are under control-in places like South Africa and combination of starvation wages and sion of workers by the state in alliance management have produced high profits.

In South Africa Leyland has three Blackheath near Cape Town it manufactu bles cars; and at Mobeni in Durban and at in Transvaal it makes vans and trucks.

Since 1973 Leyland South Africa has been involved in a long dispute with its 800 or so black workers.

Through a policy based on lies, hypocrisy and collusion with the racist repression of the state, Leyland has refused to recognise the trade union to which its black workers belong. The Metal and Allied Workers began to recruit members in the 1973. Within three months 95% had joined

MAWU

cogn Union Mobeni of the ies wi firmi India brutal with te the state where a repres- Leyland factories. At res and assem- Elandsfontein (MAWU) first plant in April black workers

ISM

refused, saying it was illegal.

In fact, though under South Afri are denied any of the facilities give they are not as such illegal, nor is it companies to negotiate with them.

Faced with Leyland's refusal the union retreated tried instead to elect representatives to the plant w committee. Leyland refused to recognise these re entatives. At the beginning of management-dominated workers boycotted it and workers. Leyland refused and so the union called th recognition strike for many years. The company all the striking workers and, when the union was to retreat, refused to employ anyone who had pl part in organising the union.

MAWU tried to spread its recruiting the Elandfontein plant but the Union secretary and other workers organising within the plant were promptly arrested by the Security Branch and threatened with various charges. That was three recognition has co refuse recognition. sa lan illegal black ur white un for indivi ions ons, dual 974 Leyla liaison demanded nd tried to set committee. a referendum up Th f th years ag ntinued. o. Th And

MAWU

Leyland e first sacked forced ayed a campaign continues for to Union organisers have been incessantl and victimised. Leyland claims, with hypocrisy. that to recognise the union n back the cause of African trade unionism.

The truth is that any increase in the power of black workers (whose wage in 1974 was £10 would set back the cause of Levland's profits a threaten its lucrative deals with Vorster's racist ship. A very ! for exampl police and ations. The British Leyland Combine Commi year for a black on supplies going to the subsidiary until MAWU gained recognition.

Len Murray, Jack Jones and Hugh Scanlon cl support this demand. But in accordance with the collaborationist policies in Britain, they have absolutely nothing to enforce it.

Meanwhile Leyland is trying to crush the South Africa by moving its Mobeni operations heath in the Cape where MAWU has no strength.

Leyland's activities in India have been eve publicised than those in South Africa. But they the same ruthless hostility to its workers.

At Ashok Leyland in Ennore in Mad turing and assembly operation employs making old models using old machinery intensity of work is very high.

Skilled workers at the plant receive abo the wage of an unskilled worker in Britain.

A British trade unionist who managed plant last year during Dictator Gandhi's reports that it is ringed by wire fences and b state police. There is and the pol He reported workers' arge e. is are indi y intimida unbelieva ow might ted ble set the a week) nd might dictator- proportion o sold to the widely used f Land Rover production, South African army and in internal security oper ntinuo ttee voted last South African aim to ir class Gone un 01 ion in Black- n less reveal ras a manufac 4,000 workers on which the to ris visit the mergency tling with ion at Isly in thless the tervi man entr ine i agen ance nside la1 he plant factory. 3 by the GE There is a long history o olence and le factory against trade union militants.

This takes the form of a struggle bet pendent unions and the stoage unior Congress Party and backed up by the m the police. The stooge unions regularly to terrorise shop floor militants.

run by the agement and armed thugs hire The Leyland management was in the forefront of brutal strikebreaking actions taken by employers crush the widespread strikes in Madras in 1972.

The factory is run by British senior managers backed up by a group of sychophantic Indian middle managers.

It was some of these who told the visiting British trade unionist that the English managers have told us that what Mrs Gandhi has done India (the emergency and suppression of trade unior ights) the British govern ment should do there. Leyland management, firms in India have been emergency. Leyland's brutal those in South Afri movement n Britai: 89 in suppression of trade union rights) the British govern- ike firn at upp the ers r multi of the nationa Gandh Leyland's brutal and reactionary actions in India, like d react must H nary take actior n up t in th dia vot

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