Banner THOMPSON reports.
been the scene of a number of although management i not WELTDOAUEUE DI CONTOIL tation, it is looking for ways to ation.
It is prepared to put up a lot of cash to achieve this end.
Terms for voluntary redundancy have been designed to appeal to the large number of workers who have been in the Tactory for a long time, often Dver 25 years. Many : would receive E10,000 or more. *NINE HUNDRED redundancies and short time working for everyone else. That is the holiday message from management at Massey Ferguson's Lane factory in Coventry.
aascher of a decisive lend from the shop stewards' committer workers have, applied cluding two of the convenors ano severa shon stewards.
This reflects a situation ment has been able to 'buy' jobs. Ai Massey's, as at other factories, this financial inducement has been very hard to COmDaL The lact romains that every job bought is one job less. In Covenery, with a very high level With such terms on offer, the | of unemployment prospects of revival, this is extremely serious.
A fight against the imposition of short-time working is WILLIAM therefore doubly important, will have been inflicted on the The unanimously accepted a posal to counterpose a "hlock lay-off' to short-time working. 138800 workers would be laid off with 5D Der cent Day guarantee when work is not available.
Obviously this scheme is not perlect bur il e a boner dical than that in operation at many and no However, the workfance.
'in the RESPONSE committee unanimous and response from the stewards off committee rejected a proposal the plant. By refusing to put forward any fighting proposals it runs the risk of demoralis ation and despair amang the A works conference was held on Wednesday to discuss a short-time working. A minority of stewards were deterinined o see thai there is a clear response to the management's thacars.
As Roger Kline, the mover of the proposal to prevent tractors eaving the plant, pur it: In convinced that if there is:
workers, hen the company will back The conference showed that it will be hard going for a good bur the timie b DVCI-Titt 10t an orianEaton o the left in the UPW which will small forces which Alan Fisher, public employee's union general secretary, has sald that the 700,000 NUPE members were in no mood to accept another round of pay restraint. He also sald that they want a clear commitment in Labour's next manifesto for a E60 national minimum wage and a 35 hour week. He made this announcement al a iosuvai in ine alexandra Pasace in conoon Gerecraung tel union's fiftleth birthday. Michael Foot, Labour's deputy leader replied by pointing to the large number of businesses that Labour had saved from closing downl COT THE A MESSAGE