THE company is they'll bankrupt close down the plants if we strike.' That's what the Transport and union leaders told the BL workforce, echoing Edwardes' threat. What's the truth?
strike had gone ahead, there's no dou have inc ColliDall taken Ine some ory close own some the plants already scheduled for 28,000 jobs.
Sanese jobs and plants are due to soon. at the chance to blame the saved these Only a fight against he company's will achieve MaL.
Essential Was the government BL Teddy alogether This threat Was a bluff by Edwardes.
capitalism needs BL. It needs it, not because • concern about tric lale ur the workforce, but because a continuing and viable car industry essential if Britain is to continue to be woule De blow the strength and viability of the whole capitalism. tremendous knock-on effect especially in the Midlands ındustry allu matter to Edwardes Tories? Aren't engaged in process of 'de-industrialisaAnxious That argument is based on a confusion. The British capitalist class, despite non-industrial sectors nuke bankine and insurance, denends on belng class of an dustrialised country.
Socialist Challenge streamline profitable and efficient, and industry make u more break the workers that is not the same thing as •e-toustralsalion. cYcl involve alle redundancies.
De-industrialisation proper would be suicide for capitalist class.
H ven threat to completely close BL was the money there? Surely Leyland is bankrupt ane can amora more. Metro Al one lever laisas tue But if we look below the sur hard. in the current year, ward. 1u1 chalile. •L whil uc pas ing an extra £20m in interest to me banks decause or man interest rates. This amounts week worker.
since the Ryder nan in governmen nas demanded that a porthe banks Ivallulld BuICE DISC DUall per cent interest The large-scale borrowing of BL since 1975 13 November 1980 Opposition On the SD1, more than 500 will disappear Christmas if management's plan goes through.
The union leadership has given a green light to another round of redundar and Wil to sabotage any. opposition Edwardes. Management' success will enormously assist other employers in im cuts and job combine-wide • opposi needs to be built, based the a nationa delegate conference to decide on a strategy for the defence of jobs and living Thisdards one task which task which militants at BL must now take
FOR THE week Gardner's workers have been flying round the country raising support and money for the occupation. Mick was among them: 'I've been going around the bus depots the Manchester The response was good. They thought it was their fight, that Gardner's is giving a lead in how to fight for jobs.
"They're threatened with 150 redundancies on the and them Calcis which road thev should take to ae It's true, too;
dancies all over we're the only ones taking action.
When you have round you've unemployment. But it's not so omnicull to show wilal s wrong sulualol where ICI can sack the peowealth that given or the majority of workers the last 55 years They asur have to sack people around anyone really believe that people washing 1KC machines, fridges, engines, or decent houses.
make It worse because less people can anora to buy things anyway. ONE of the most striking things about the like the workers in the Lenin shipyard in Poland, are young. mond O'Neill talked to Mick Smethurst, a 'we ve nad a lot or sup port from the places we've been visiting. But I think the union leaders should be to the shop floor aroung I01 sondarily. not just solidarity; because Should for them take themselves to delena unelr That's the best and 'It's important that young workers more active part in the union' - other factories occupying Lo aciena loos I don't agree with peo ple who say we should wai ill the next election before take a taking on Thatcher. By then it'll be too late for a lot of people only way aca will government action to get them out! Power 'As it is, I'm worried that trade union IcaucIs wall lo use Maroners as a sort or ex periment and just wait and . We don't sort of support. leaders be tourne une ractorie with us arguing for support "and action кПо» people argue that the unions have CLOC mUCh DUWCI personali don' think they've got enough. unions nothing more than the workers on sho What sort of power have we got? What Say ul we have about owe work is organised? Who asks us what should be pro. duced? The windraw ou labour alle that's our right if our jobs are • bie teached. leading the fight is that tars I casul s a very well organised fa tory safety-wise and union wise Before the occupation Lue snoo stewards met cver weeks reporter means nal BaCk to sub liccus we're all well-informed and when it comes : crunch people back up th shop ste Also the here quite WOTACIS reckon there young about acce maybe under cavea old® I think it's importan that take a active part 12U1C just in disputes but all the time.
The union should en coulase to get involved Decause Soure or lalc Ill be our Tactory , before the sit-in we had and there were union speaker: the canLoCh can t couldn't have had an prentice speaking along with the others 'A lad of nineteen is go. ing to get through to other vout easily than a bloke of 40 peopic of the could be encourag ed would be through setting up inel own commitices so they had their own reps ir the union.
----- pull-quotes -----
loss of the
financing comes from BL's
EDWARDES: workers pay through the past
them a profit every year for union 'The encourage later
factory' Gardner's apprentice Gardner's engineering factory is that,
should us to get involved because sooner it'll be our
third year apprentice in the toolroom, about the strike and the role of young workers in it.