plant.
They agreed to the demands of Leyland boss Michael Edwardes and instructed their members at Leyland to go back to work -without securing the re-instatement of Robinson, who had been victimised the previous week for his union activity.
Instead the union has,decided to launch its own 'inquiry' into Robinson's activities. In other words, at the behest of the Leyland bosses, Robinson's own union is to put him on trial.
Even if Robinson is declared 'innocent", Edwardes has said that he will not necessarily accept the verdict, and that Robinson will not automatically be re-instated.
What is sure is that if the inquiry goes Robinson's way it will be much more difficult to mobilise Leyland workers in his defence at some later date.
All who have agreed to this 'compromise' have compromised one of the basic tenets of the trade union movement - the defence of its members. Any political organisation which agrees to the inquiry will be committing political suicide.
Now it is important to rebuild the struggle against the victimisation and press for all-out Leyland strike action; to demand the inquiry is boycotted, to organise and explain to the Leyland workforce what the real issues are.
Ever since trade unions were formed in this country the ruling class have tried to smash them. Through the years they deported trade unionists, banned unions, ordered their police to attack pickets. As recently as the Heath government trade unionists were locked up in Pentonville jail.
The sacking of British Leyland convenor Derek Robinson brought that tradition up to date. The Leyland issue is not a personal» power struggle between Robinson and Edwardes. Nor is it a conflict between one stewards' organisation. At issue is the matter of class against class.
him as 'a man with the guts to fight"; the Tories let it be known that if Robinson was and sack 100,000 workers.
such threats then had the nerve to turn around and accuse the Leyland workers of 'blackmail'. anti-union management and a single shop All the usual ruling class rabble rallied behind Edwardes. The Daily Mail described attack.
re-instated and Edwardes resigned then the government would make Leyland bankrupt crisis, Adding insult to injury those who made The mass sacking threat is a bluff, but that it has been made shows how seriously the ruling class views the Leyland struggle. They know that if Edwardes can get away with sacking a union convenor, then every union convenor in the country will be ripe for And now more than at any time since the war, the bosses and their political representatives are out to attack the right of working people to organise; because British capitalism is heading for a massive crisis and it needs to make workers pay for that To quote the Daily Mirror again: What happens to British Leyland in the next few days could well be symbolic of what happens to all of us in the years that lie ahead., Absolutely right. The ruling class knows what is at stake at Leyland. So should we.