Recent events at Swanson and Dagenham have once again demonstrated why occupations are sucit a vital weapon in the arsonal of car workers struggles, •Occupations take the initiative away from the management, who are ollierwise able to call the tune in terms of when and how worlers will be culled back to the plant aliet they have been laid off bocanse of a dispute in a particular section.
•At Dagenham the occupation swiftly closed off the KD section - the "knock down' section in which parts are boxed up for assemhly over seas - and sealed off wheels for the Halewood plant. A shorage of wheels could swiftly have brought Ford's nationally to a hall.
@Occupations provide a militant focus for a nationally co-ordinated campaign against spuedups and short-fime.
•By involving the mass of worken and operating Brough a democratically clocted occupation committee, occupations unite the whole workforce and provide a framework within which the correer. poucies call be nammend out to meet the crisis ********************* by the company to do the work of the strikers. Eventually, if Ford's get away with it, the labour pool will have done its work, and because they bave no coonomic power those in it will be the first to face the sack.
In the face of mounting short-time (14,000 out of Fords 52,000 manual workers are on short-time), curbacks in manning levels, speedup and lay-off threats in every section of the company, the trade union officials and the Communist Party and left Labourites who dominate Ford's Shop Stewards Committees have done notbing to organise the shop-floor into building a united response, They live been content to lobby so chiled "ert" Labour MPs with demands for a public inquiry and the need for public ownership. This is the song CP Convenur Dan Connors sings whenever he's ongaged in goving up Ford worker's hard-won gains to the company without a figlil.
...Speed-up...Sackings...Short-time...Speed-IN SACKINGS 8 may 1975 those in dispute) but carried out no action. The number of stewards in the occupation could be counted on the fingers of two hands.
The management was so afraid of a united opposition that they decided to pay the laid off workers for the Monday and Friday for which they would normally have heen laid off because of short-time working. Then Dan Connors used the mass meeting on May Day to wind up the occupation!
The fact that management had reversed its position on not talking to the unions about the munning cuts was good enough for him. But these talks had only come about in the tirst place hecause of the militant action of the workers. A resolution from IMG militant Steve Harper calling for the continuation and the boiding of the occupation was narrowy defeated by 39 votes to 37, with massive grumbling abstentions.
It's not that the reformist leadership does not want to tight for no redundancies, or doesnot believe that it is possible to mobilise car workers to enforce this They don't know how to, because they accept the framework of the cupitalist market system. Hence they have no real answer when Ford's say the market has shrunk and short-time and increased producaviLy is necess to sure peas by are telling the truth in terms of the capitalist system:
But the struggle at Ford's is far from over.
The door-hungers and fender-fitlers are still in dispute, and both shifts remain locked-out till 6 May. The outcome of last Thursdays talks will be heard then and the possibility of another occupation remains.
by IMG car-workers at Dagenham. ORKERS SAY -accept ne responsibility for the capitalist crisis, diately 19 haminer out a common jobs policy hould be replaced with a workers olan of work sharing he meeting should supsort all moves towards a conferr industry to set in motion & campaign to foren the + under workers control. hive, If the company wints to increase production it agement to play off workers laid-off agalent work ens in is force wide polley of no redundancies will gain the support of unt of work avalable should be calculated by the stew los of pay. The present workforce should produce any shedding workers or acquiring large stocks whereby bave palicy and the nationalisation of Ford's in its a morkers of Ford's thenselves to investigete Fort's ith this ford workers cauld work out line speods, work ement Open the Booke so thet this seauiry en pa about at orders Ford's to obey. These deminch should be mut with a terened Occupation of the Plant and -ama 'REASONABLE by British Leyland's workforce and its management to the reduction of industrial disputes and the improvement of productivity [which] will inevitably mean a gradual reduction in the number of workers required to produce a given number of vehicles (Ryder Report, p. 33).
depend on. But a frontal assault on car workers' hard-won rights would meet with massive resistance. So Ryder, whose report is going to be a model for other industries, has another "plan". "efficiency", and get better (for the managementl manning levels.
in creating the conditions in which productivity can be increased is, however, that there should be some significant progress towards industrial democracy" (Ryder Report, p.42).
in soliciting this "naw spirit of reasonable co-operation' from the trade unions. Jaguar stewards have been 'reasonably co-operating' for years. And a closer look underneath the surface of the wage increases achieved reveals a record which should serve as a warning for the whole trade union movement. Now read on......
After the 11 week strike in 1972, many of the old Jaguar management team were replaced, Several members of the strike committee took formen's jobs Geoffrey Robinson book over as managing director to see through the next step of British Leyland's plan.
In 1973 the Measured Day Work proposals arrived. British Leyland called it The Secure Earnings Plan' (SEP) Management agreed to stop production while a series of section meetings were heid to discuss the proposals. This led to an overwhelming rejection of the plan by mass meetings in the assembly and engines plants The senior stewards then renegotiated the deal. The most significant amendments dealt with the role of the shop stewards. The new deal accepted the management's right to manage", allowed full mobility of labour, and so on. It also stressed that management decisions must be curried out in consultation with the shop stewards You might think this provision allows the steward: and the workers on the shop Door some control the stewards are more under the control of management.
Although the tirst SEl was rejected by mass meetings, the sonior stewards arranged a scoret bullot on the new deal. It was accepted by a 2 to I majority. The minimum skilled rate from 1974 was to be 154 But the new SEP deal accepted the restrictions of the Tories Phase III pay laws, so the new rates were delayed. It also meant a threshold clause triggered, Jaguar management and stewarde had a problem. British Leyland policy was against any form of cost-of-living settlement. If Jaguar was be in ruins within a few months. Ever worker in British Leyland would want the same minimal protection for his or her carnings against rising prices The Juguar stewards were made aware of the 'danger'. Of course, it would be too bad for the employers to be put out by rising prices. So the stewards met the company and together they worked out a responsible solution. Instead of adding the threshold money to the weekly wage, Jaguars would hold onto it. They would then make a lump sum payment on top of agreed hollday pay. The shop Noor accepted this arrangemont on the stewards' recommendation.
Jaguar management insisted that they were not paying the threshold; but the money paid was the exactamount due under the threshold agreement.
Their aim was clear: toget away with making SHORT-TIME, CUTBACKS IN MANNING LEVELS, SPEED-UP: every section of car workers are facing at least one of these threats. None more so than the workers at British Leyland. The recent Ryder Report "made clear that each stage [ of the Government's £2.8 billion capital expenditure programme] will depend on evidance that some tangible contribution is being made both Intensify exploitation and slash the workforce: that's what Labour's funds for Leyland will Negotiating and bargaining procedures will be streamlined to 'avoid' disputes, improve How is this to be done? "The most crucial factor in improving industrial rolations at B.L. and Ryder no doubt had in mind the success of Geoffrey Robinson - prominent Labour Party member and "whizz-kid" managing director of BLMC's Jaguar plant at Browns Lane in Coventry JOE SAUNDERS cost-of-living increases to 8,000 British Leyland workers at Jaguar while keeping another 160,000 operation as soon as it suited them, It wasn't employees in the dark - with inflation eating away so casy for the stewards. their pay packets.
Jaguar stewards participated in the deception.
When Red Weekly reported the concenled threshold payment, senior stewards at Cowley telephoned a convenor at the Browns Lane plant who said: "No, we are not getting the threshold" deals like this. They say they are acting in the best interests of their members in Jaguars.
with managerent, management will play ball with section. u5. The theory is that if the shop stewards cooperate in enforcing discipline, mobility of labour was written into the deal. When the threshold was and so on then the barriers of mistrust are lowerLed, and management responds to further the best interests of the workers.
Does it work? The senior stewards claim openly to meet ils commitment, this policy would there's no arguing with the facts. In November last yeur, British Leyland paid its workers a £1.80 cost of living increase. At Jaguar threshold pay ments totulled 14.40, which were consolidated with the basic rate before the April 1975 review.
But there is a heavy price to puy. It's not simply a question of panciple - dumping trade union solidarity and working cass unity in favour of collaboration with management. Among the the fril to suffer are the Jaguar workers, The centre of union-management participation is the Monthly Meeting. Senior stewards meet with top management who present the latest market figures, investment plans and production targets for discussion. This is reported back to the joint stewards and finally the shop floor - jusr as the Ryder report says it should he done.
Throughout last year Jaguar was expanding Ryder-calls for 'gradual reduction' in workforce and modernised, production increased. Order books wete booming, especially for the AmericBut in January the plant leadership partic ipated in a special meeting. American dealers had cut their order by 7098. The monaging director admitted that a mistake may have been made in increasing production capacity And because the shop stewards were involved in this mistake from the start, they had to participate in sorting it out. They agreed to shorttime working from the middle of January.
A month later the full effact of the crisis for Jaguar was clear. The collaborators took anoth er responsible step. A system of voluntary redundancies was brought in to cut the work fore by 10 per cent. Geoffrey Rebirson explained "We are planning for the future there is no alternative to a cutback in labour. Seven hundred jobs were lost While 700 paid the price for participation with their jobs, the reminder are still on shorttime. And recent events have shown yet more dangers in sacrificing independent organisation and working class soliderity in favour of collaboration with the bosses.
After the redundancies, management wanted to speed up production. The shop floor with drew agreement to the short-time working. Then the ball game changed. Jaguar's broke their lay-off agreement Although management was able to dump the spirit of responsible co Finally they worked out an alternative when borl-time working goes on and everybody works overtime each day. It's a messy arrange ment trying lo balance between the needs of the management and the interests of the workers Although it was accepted by a majority vote The plant leadership has a fast answer on shady across the factory, it caused big divisions among the workforce. Whole sections, including the main asserbly, voted against the pian. Shop guiding principle for collaboration is: "We pluy ball stewards then had to enforce the vote in every The 1975 wage review is only the latest Lesson in bow participation ties down the working class. The shop stewards are recommending acceptance of a 13 per cent rise. They claim there is "no alternative to falling living standards given the present state of the car market.
The results of a policy of copperation are clear. Workers rely on the bosses and accept responsibility for falling markets and rising pric es even where the hoss won't. When the crisis comes (and it has) the workers end up carrying the can for capitalism - with redundancies on the one hand and wages eaten away by rising prices on the other. The defenders of class coll aborationist policies have noting to offer except idle boasts - like the fox who lost his tail and claimed he was better off withour it. M Short time Spe
czechoslovakia red weekly, 8 may 19/5
----- pull-quotes -----
Speed-un Sackings. JAGUAR STEWARDS FAIL TO LEAD STRUGGLE CO-OPERATION'