IMGpapers 1976–79

Newspapers of the International Marxist Group and its forerunners, 1976–79

Count down to an official strike

Socialist Challenge No. 123, 29 November 1979 · p. 4 of the scan · 388 words

The scan: sc-n123-nov-29-1979.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-3 of 7; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 4 of the scan

BL management announces sacking of Derek Robinson and the disciplining of three other members of the unofficial BL shop Combine Committee.

There is an immediate response in Longbridge; Robinson's own plant, where 7,000 day-shift workers walk out demanding his reinstatement. The shop stewards meet and decide to mount pickets of the entire plant to cusul c that there would nightshift.

The company is well prepared, and IS distributing throughout the BL plants explaining es cuts.

The first of Edwardes' divisive wheeled pamphlet was in the Hault Combine Committee, officially recognised union body, the sacking was not as a result of union activities.

That night the pickets are: solid; only a handful of workers report for work. Eleven thousand workers are now on strike to defend Robinson.

The Leyland Action Committee, with socialist militants from several BL plants, meets in Birmingham to discuss the situation. It considers that the fight to defend Robinson has to be linked to a fightback against the stewards no leaflets out: the nO:

SO attend the meeting, longer a BL emolovee for reinstatement for Robinson.

Both the the son's to defend him.

can leaflets pressure Canley the Edwardes' plan.

doubt Jaguar workers sacking this strike to 24,000.

all-out strike action in BL BL UNION himself attempts to but Be security guards refuse him entry to company property on the grounds that he is no The stewards meeting is lobbied by hundreds of BL employees calling of the offer and conditions that go along with it are rejected by the senior stewards at the They also demand Robinimmediate reinstatement, but incy donor cantor albul sunke actor.

The senior stewards leave it up to the leadership of each plant to organise whatever action they for organised BL-wide action is building up. A mass meeting of 6,000 workers at Canley votes to take indefinite strike action would be one of the first plants to close under the next stage of At about the same time, 6,000 Lovel wI fools, bringing the total number on KONIRSO tells the press that 'this is a dispute we intend to win', but he makes no mention of In London, the executive of the Union Robinson's - is discussing his case.

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LAST week an article by Pat Hickey appeared on the front page of and your job

← Derek Robinson: a fighWEDNESDAY 21 →

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