demands his reinstatement, but holds back from making the strikes official.
Terry Duffy, president AUEW, says that this is because BL won't send a enough team' to negotiate with him. The executive's statements imply that it is more concerned about the "future of the company' than in detending the leading steward in the AUEW. Discipline Pat Hickey, a senior steward at th Rover plant in Birmingham, return from the meeting on pay with 700 copies of the offending pamphlet on the Edwardes' plan which he then distributes on the line workforce, Hickey considers, should at least know what Robinson sacked for.
At 3pm Hickey is called in by the works manager for a disciplinary hearing. Management quickly structs foremen to stop sales of the pamphiet. Workers in the plant are threatened with the sack for reading the pamphlet in their breaks. But management is forced to back down. Hickey's disciplinary hearing is first postpa d thing Derek robiher.
evening Derek shares the platform McLennan, general secretary of the Communist Party, at a public meeting held by the local CP: Robinson makes a somewhat uninspired speech about himself, calling for whatever support is necessary.
Unreasonable He denies that his sacking is due to the pamphlet, explaining that it has a lot more to do with Edwardes plans productivity deals mobility. To show that management being unreasonable. points out that he had gone to them himself two years ago with similar proposals.
By this morning the "strong shocked by the strength of support that announcing:
Robinson in the full knowledge of the consequences, and we are now riding The Birmingham Post estimates At the Castle Bromwich Press Steel Fisher plant, maintains his tough line by sacking The Keyworth, drawing up a plan to save the plant. was castie bromwien Is anolner plant le be closed under the Edwardes' plan. After a stewards in- plant convenor, says: "These sackings have WAKS OIL unleashed all the built Edwardes' plan.' proceeds to vote for indefinite strike meeting of Committee that afternoon calls for a day of action on Monday Birmingham. But the senior stewards have to tell their members that there is still no clear national line for action to unite BL workers behind Longbridge. That evening the district committee calls for the strike to be made official, as does TGWU Region s With 139 Labour MPs calling for immediate reinstatement, mounting pressure on Terry Duffy job and Moss Evans to make the strikes official, but they have yet to make a move.
stewards call a mass meeting with a resolution for a token stoppage only.
company is has . received, sacked Derek They have avoided holding any sort of meeting where a proposal for all-out could pul forward. 24-hour strike is supported.
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that the company has already lost 15 million in production through the