AS long as union leaders like Frank Chapple, John Baldwin, Eric Hammond and Terry Duffy carry on as they are over the Isle of Grain dispute there will be little need to push through Prior's union-bashing Employment Bill - these working class leaders doing the Tories' job for them.
The mass picket at the Isle of Grain power station hit headlines recently, but the dispute back over many months. involves skilled members General and Municipal Workers UmoR when a new wages agreement was introduced.
Workers on the frai site were employed by contractors operating on behalf of the Central Electricity RICADG DOIS S'SL-IL meant that some workers were paid higher rates than others. As HOlccl the site different OIR OVO CK RTICIO : bonus rates as their skills came into special demand.
When the CEGB stepped in last By Mick Drake FORD workers across Europe face a ferocious attack on their jobs and working conditions that will make the present loss of over 1,500 jobs in the foundry and engine plants at Dagenham look like chicken-feed.
management leaked last week reveal that at a recent '10 Year Business Plan' meeting in Cologne, every European plant manager was instructed to comole 'shopping lists' for actions in an "'after Japan" situaThe for the transmission plant runs to four pages and 54 suggestions.
These include: elimination of all forms of demarcation replacement of fitters and electricians by increased robots, computer-controlled tions, and more interlinking machines through automation; integration of quality control inspectors into production; and the increased use of selective layoffs.
The drive behind this onslaught is the crisis of the world car industry particularly the General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.
They have been caught building oversized, overpriced when, because of rising oil prices, people want smaller cars. Japanese manufacturers have steped will take 21 per cent of the US market this year compared with Ford's 17 per cent and Chrysler's 7.5 per cent.
The world recession pounded this crisis for the US-based car giants. In May, for instance, sales were down 37 per cent in the US and 33 per cent in the UK on this time last year.
In the United States, Ford lost $1 billion in 1979 and is expected to lose $1.5 billion this year.
Ford's European operations bilion to the i corp orate treasury floating, contributing 1979 alone - including nearly £500 million from Britain.
But the slump is drying up this flow of cash and the knives are coming Management "Japanisation . • • This+ means Sw and á. torm, of worker parAugust the laggers, members of the GMWU, hac won especially oois rates Sue argaers" skils doing the final insulation for pipes and turbines before they SECiII Merl toR Lac Rieers could threaten complete shut down sre and hence command high bonuses.
A complex bargaining and bonus payments is common to the whole construction the inaustry, parucularly on big siles. By taking on the laggers at the CEGB WaN changing this situation for all by playing sections workforce off against cach other. Board The board began negotiating a new wages agreement to standardise bonuses. For most workers Ul&I SILC methee wage increases bargaining away the possibility of high bonuses in future. But for the most highly paid workers, gers, it meant a wage cut; for man! of them their wages would nav West as jobs are eliminated.
effectively workforce present 76,000!
documents Automation: in the Halewood shops in 'cost-saving Halewood setters.
and the This has use of puterisation of stock control.
орегаprocess, production workers.
Participation:
Us galils. and plant level shopfloor schemes in the Bas-guzzlers circles'.
The in and people, including soft hour's overtime.
has com- How long car tetlt neens The shopfloor Up to now, have $2 renewed in Wage and protecting jobs calls it of worker automation, diréct manufacplant by plant.
been halved. • high Thons renresenang other workers, the Union (EETPU) and the constructanion sectón Union (AUEW), into management's «cccve• lic return for promises of permanent system of on-site work.
The laggers began strike action Grain, and work was stopped on the site The CEGB stepped once and stop work al uramn arogclict.
The leaders of the EETPU and the AUEW lined up ment to insist that the laggers ac cept the wage cut. lepders of ahe cons truetion se, bn OCSe O hsiots. mond and John Baldwin, said that they would provide on #CuOCs dlc owi utoAs Lo do the laggers' work. wile When the two unions actually carried out this threat they broke the lag- with a fundamental principle trade umionism and a Tool source oI organised workers' strength - that ticipation to muzzle union opposition The latest issue of Ford's house journal claims that if Ford UK was to compete Japanese manutacturers it shoud have a total of 30,000 instead of the What's in store for Ford's UK The use of robots body and paint preparation for the new Escort will cost 200 jobs. New £lm presses in the Dagenham press shop will amalgamate the jobs of die setters, press operators, and automation Computerisation: Initially visual display units were used in the receiving and shipping departments.
been extended at the Langley truck plant to the full comThe next step is to introduce computers directly into the manufacturmeaning minute-tominute control over the remaining and mausece The aim of management is to go straight over the heads of the union leaders at national and to introduce worker participation form of 'quality superintendent. This group discusses a 'quality" problem - usually in a we go fully "Japanese' and every worker has to make at least one suggested improvehas not been prepared for this onslaught. But mass meetings throughout the country last week rejected Ford's proposals for a double day-shift system which would not have cut the working week.
fight the 35-hour week is the first move in urning gew technology to our advan The second move should. be a campaign for union control over its introduction, rejection of any form participation, * and European co-ordination to stop the management implementing its p the Electricians not scab on each other. are jumped straight trap and tion section arcan ens Grain ? Principles these Dalawin. leader, HICHCCS up threats to construction sites. justities his scab role Power wiht maldic Eventually, on CEGB would jeopardise project unskilled 28 laggers.
Ca neu
agreements greater always want. no union will do jobs traditionally The «one v noneron• oworers To put it another way, unions do the leaders of the EETPU and the AUEW construc- level of prepared to Stanoaes on the the AUEW government. has given two reasons for his action: that he is protecting his ception.
jobs, and that he wants to see 'fair' rates for all workers on Fight Neither reason ; built and it is highly unlikely that the conoeror.
acnertl the entire sakc ol ic nie wages they would pay to the site's The board is, of course, keen on rate for set of wages and bonus that provide even overheads — that's what the bosses superprofits lower this, too, the CEGB experesce oI the steel strike and the settlement BL show that workers in the public sec.
some of the fiercest attacks on their organisation attacks organised the auspices Tory The power WULACH. employed by the CEGB are no exCasic They recognise that CAISL IO IL N the workers those of the boss, and that without InTeres s re mV2Y ODooSae the superior organisatior the bosses win.
Baldwin didn't even begin to cal the CEGB's bluff. He just echoer S-NOA JI1 O1 SAI SC00 31 Hor all workee on the Grain all workers on • Grain site, but he did not put up any bat to raise the wage eve ort workers to that of the laggers. Or The just went along witt and was Ford "The agreement undermines the potential of all workers in the in. dustry to argue for higher bonu tel productvily especially needed.
Trade union solidarity in sup DOL OC KtOSKOw ur'cIl needed, not just for the sake of their rates of pay, but in the intersts Fi OVO ment.
president of the I CIr DUnLY AUEW, , played a similar forelock tugging. role The longer such leaders are allowed to remain at the helm the task of the 1 onos. lu orcakm uo uic orlals ed strength of the trate union movement, becomes that much But leaders like these can be kicked out if workers in their get oransca lc Tonde. them. A first step towards this in Union can be : taken at the Engineering Chartel conference on 27 June. Duffy must re-elected for a further live years lisal yod trade union movement the fight by insisting that Len Mur EEPTU and the AUEW construc and discin ime the tion section uniess they honour the their members off the laggers' jobs.
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workforce is broken down into small groups of no more than 15 a foreman and