SHOP Stewards representing Leyland plants met in Birmingham on Saturday to discuss Edwardes' closure plans. The response of the stewards was to overwheimingly plans and pledge fuill support to those resisting closure.
Edwardes however is determined to get his way and plans to ballot shop-floor workers over the heads of their elected leaders. PAT KANE was in Birmingham at the weekend and talked to PAUL SHEVLIN, a TGWU steward at Jaguar in Coventry and a Socialist Challenge supporter.
Edwardes sent a letter to the demonstration in London on 9 October saying: I don't know why you are holding the demonstration because when we met on Friday we were all agreed to the principle of the closures.' When the union leaderships Edwardes on 5 October, eight hours of talks led them to agree the concept of closure. They'd seen Industry Secretary, who'd refused to advance Bl any more money. And Michael Edwardes is clearly saying that he's prepared to put the whole of BL in the hands the receivers if accept. The acceptance of the leaderships are being forced to step back from it now, has considerably likelihood of a united fight against the closures.
all British thein reaction reject the way everyone is under threat.
plants facing closure to resist.
get support throughout the company.
The problem meeting's Derek HONSE the whole struggle can be undermined.
However there resistance in the example, off with the closures.
Pressure
Leyland Action The Jaguar and Longbridge.
contacts we have in Castle met set up meetings in the Keith Joseph, the unions don' Although principle of although the undermined the verbal some kind of fighting reality.
There is no point accepting the present plan hoping*to avoid Leyland being closed down completely. These plans of Edwardes are only we urst steps Delore wey start lo runner cu down Leyland's by selling off bits of it. If these cuts are made it's hard to see that Leyland could continue as a single company in, say, five years time. Small isn't beautiful in the car industry. The built-in logic of Edwardes' plan is to hive off sections of Leyland to raise capital, and the company will get smaller and smaller. So either However, although everyone is ultimately under threat, the crucial thing is for those The biggest closures that are coming up are at Canley ir Coventry and at Castle Bromwich - if these plants aren't fighting then it will be difficult to that, despite the of the Edwardes' plan, the record of convenors like Over doubtful whether they will lead a real fight. And locally, if the shop stewards are not inclined to fight, atmosphere of Al Canley, for there have been cars mysteriously damaged on the nightshift - everyone knows that this was done by workers who are pissed Leyland Stewards for the Annual Reyiew which is a left tendency inside the Leyland pay met last Wednesday, 10 October, and decided to set up a grouping has support stewards and rank and file militants in Cowley,