MAY All photos: G. M. COOKSON [Sociallal Challenryo| Socialist Challenge 21 May 1981 for Jobs. when allcul justify.
WOrk allu TEN THOUSAND body and assembly plant workers at Ford Halewood are on indefinite strike against the company's two-shift lay-off 'disciplinary code.
In response Ford is laying off many more workers at Dagenham and Southampton, and it is threatening to shut down the whole of its British operations -plants in the world.
The trouble started on the night shift on 6 May four men the Halewood body Diall underbody area disciplined for refusing to timings their jobs timings that Ford's engineers could When the men's SUDDOIL. suspended the whole plant latel the assembly the most profitable Ford plant for two shifts. The company then withdrew the discipline on the four, admitting it was wrong in the first place.
Rather than meekly accept suspension, the body, assembly and truck fleet night-shift struck On Monday of last week mass meeting of a further 6,000 day-shift workers voted overwhelmingly them on indefinite strike until the disciplinary code is revoked.
Halewood has been a the sharp end of the com pany's stick ever since the mast Aust The worker The worker what al al c capercas Ford workers can expect ir the wake of the massive ef ficiency programme nounced by the compan! on 24 April Cuts This calls for drasti cuts in manning on th lines; line workers to d minor repairs to their ow tooling: an end to dema among skille workers, and the introduc tion. of 'quality circles productio meanine workers doing their ow inspection and eliminatin quality control inspector