The ADO15 MINI IS LAUNCHED TODAY Some extracts from the Times description of the new, NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY NEWS; Jaguar Is Planning To Cut Production AP Published: Thursday, February, Production of British Leylands new Morris Marina was at a standstill last night following a, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, The cars : Austin Maestro (LC10) development story, The cars : Land Rover Freelander (CB40) development story, Opinion : Austin Maestro a tale of unfulfilled promise, Opinion : Why unrest plagued the Maestros launch, The cars : Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 development story, eBay Find of the Week : Rover 45 with less than 2k miles on the clock, Archive : Jaguar Is Planning To Cut Production, Archive : Strike by 80 halts Marina output. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. He worked variously for Morris, Austin, BMC, BLMC, BMLH, Leyland Cars, Austin-Morris and Jaguar-Rover- Triumph Thats roughly a new corporate brand every 10 months and on the launches of the Allegro, 18-22 Series, TR7 and XJ-S. At that time, BL had the biggest advertising budget in the UK, he says, and we gave Saatchi its first-ever car account, which was the Princess., Dapper, silver-haired Alan Zafer, who began at MG, goes further: It was probably the greatest range of cars under one umbrella. acquired by BMC in 1953. A shame really as improvements to the Maxi, Princess and Allegro had made these cars as good as many of their European rivals and certainly British Leyland never had to endure the sort of scandal that was engulfing Lancia at the time, where poor rustproofing was causing the engines to fall out of relatively new cars. International Socialism, April 1977. Your email address will not be published. The result has been the opposition of senior stewards to the toolmakers' strike earlier this year, and the fiascos of the April 20 strike against the Social Contract and the Longbridge strike vote in August 1977. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. The response was:Theyve been doing it for years., Wed been establishing targets, establishing line rates and achieving 60 per cent of the target, which meant that the track stopped for 40 per cent of the day. after annual holidays (see 5 July). Your email address will not be published. Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party of Britain [1] Derek Robinson (1927-2017) was a British trade unionist. Am I being targeted by an overpayment scam? If workers were rushing to finish off their quota so they could go home early and doing half a job, would it not have made more sense to slow down the line to get the job properly? Nicknamed Red Robbo in the press of the time, Robinson was involved in some 500 walkouts at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, the result of frequent disagreements between the companys management and unions over working practices. Appointed in 1977, the combative South African businessman Sir Michael Edwardes cut the number of workers almost in half at British Leyland, from 172,000 to 90,000. Duration: 0:05:15. . The public believed the brand was the cheapest and Tesco seemed poised to conquer every field of commerce. Family Cottage near Leyland, Lancashire. DAILY MIRRORLeyland Dozers SackedBy Chris Hampson, Fourteen night shift men caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant have been sacked , a wife claimed last night. The company refused to comment while a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent. Pay and Contract. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor . Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. What's he waiting for? Strikes co-ordinated by Mr Robinson cost British Leyland 200m in lost production, according to chairman Michael Edwardes Former Leyland worker Stephen Cox said Mr Robinson was regarded by many . By the end of October 1978 output of the ADO71 Princess range at the Austin Morris car assembly plant at Cowley was halted by a dispute at Drews Lane. Transcribed & marked up by Einde O'Callaghan for ETOL.. Do they take well to polishing, T-Cut, or is a respray the remediation? British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 asBritish Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . Doubling up as it was known-working extra fast so you could bunk off-wasnt confined to BL either. It needs to be left alone. Calling for him to step in to end the 12 week . The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time. Learn how your comment data is processed. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. The size, militancy and determination felt on the pickets, demos and rallies show that the sleeping giant, the British working class, has stirred. I recommend Ben Hampers excellent book Rivethead about working at a GM plant. "There were big strikes across British Leyland, but union leaders instructed them to go back to work," Mr Loach believes. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. She said: "My husband rang to tell me that they have all lost their jobs.". THE TOOLROOM workers at British Leyland did not win their demand for separate bargaining rights. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. It seemed that if they werent being caught sleeping on the night shift they were standing on a picket line, the enduring images of TV news bulletins if your memory goes back that far. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Over the years, my father's garage has become an elephant's graveyard of corroded metal, faded wiring diagrams, desiccated gaskets and other relics of a lifetime of Land Rover ownership. The tabloid paid the equivalent of 75,000 to buy letters which not only . Permanent Salary: 27,043 - 33,453pa; Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00-17:00 Friday 09:00 - 14:00; Person Specification On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. Slight wear at extremities of boards. The company assumed its current name in 1982. Mr John Share, personnel manager, said the company was satisfied that Mr Yates had allowed men to sleep on a night shift and had allowed clocking offences in which he had taken part. It employed 200,000 people and was the fifth largest . I hadnt been there for many years. The incident would be reported to the management and judged on the circumstances. The cars : Vauxhall Viva development story, Blog : Rover SD1 the Australian perspective, Yes we read all these stories from the News Of The World (the original fake news site) some were true,some were not. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. Good condition, owner's inscription on flyleaf. Mr Alan Walters, a supervisor, said he had seen another man come from the office carrying a Land-Rover seat capable of being used as a bed. Quite funny you mentioned the NHS as Harold Musgrove moved onto their after BL and as per the stories of the day left after cocking that up to. Mr Robert Yates, British Leyland foreman, was dismissed for allowing men to sleep on the night shift at the Rover works in Solihull, West Midlands, an industrial tribunal was told yesterday. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. No mention was made of any disciplinary action against the workers. This kind of thing was riff everywhere. He left school aged 14 to begin work at the Austin plant at Longbridge, initially as an apprentice toolmaker. Ian is unable to help with technical queries he pays other people to fix his cars! A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. Following his dismissal, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies during the 1980s and 1990s, teaching shop stewards. We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. Linda Fisher's interview. "The Communist Party then dominated the factory's workforce, with many hundred Daily Workers [newspaper] being sold every day," he wrote in his blog. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or who resigned rather than be dismissed. He wrote in his 1983 book, Back from the Brink, that Mr Robinson had "kept Longbridge in ferment and upheaval" for years and "disruption and upheaval" were his "food and drink". 9 January 1980. In the 1980s and 90s, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies, teaching shop stewards. Thatcher provided British Leyland with 2.9 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) of taxpayer money from 1979 to 1988, Rhys said. Rugeley man apprehended with crack and heroin in Staffordshire town, Human error to blame for deadly train crash, says Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. DeSantis won't say he's running. Vilified by the media as "Red Robbo" he was also betrayed, in the eyes of his supporters, by trade union bosses. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Elon Musk sacks 200 MORE Twitter staff - including top lieutenant who boasted about sleeping in her office to commit to billionaire's new 'hardcore' work culture - before posting cryptic tweet Functioned as body plant for Mini and Jaguar models, employing c9,000 workers in the 1970s, Plant taken over completely by Jaguar in 1977, and became the main . 1983 Cowley Moles. Be the first to rate this post. A Supervisor who was sleeping was also dismissed, along with a Foreman. Is the 1990 Ford Escort Bonus a classic car? The British Leyland era at Longbridge became a byword for wildcat walkouts, union militancy and industrial chaos - and helped clear the path to political power for Margaret Thatcher. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over . Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. This has not happened easily and Black and Asian people have often had to fight for their rights. The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. Only British Rail and its curly-edged sandwiches ranked lower in the publics estimation. Manage Settings Mr Robert Yates, British Leyland foreman, was dismissed for allowing men to sleep on the night shift at the Rover works in Solihull, West Midlands, an industrial tribunal was told yesterday. But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. He was credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland between 1978 and 1979, costing an estimated 200 million in lost . Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. The demise of the firm was nothing to do with the design and engineering. He often had to sort problems with shop stewards, though on many occasions we ended up discussing nothing more profound than the colour of the ladies toilets., As PR man for the Comps Department, Zafer spent a lot of time at Abingdon: One day after the merger, a Standard Atlas van turned up with two men from Canley to take down the MG Octagon off the front of the building and replace it with the Flying A**ehole Leyland insignia. We must develop a campaign that involves every BL worker, every component worker and the wider Labour movement. However, despite this rallying call and a walkout by thousands of workers in support of their dismissed convenor, an official strike vote failed. See thats the part that confuses me. Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection: Quirky hotel, good for parties and groups - Read 1,173 reviews, view 382 traveller photos, and find great deals for Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection at Tripadvisor. One factor perhaps not widely understood is that chronic under-investment meant that many major components were being built on pre-war tooling, whereas the Germans, for example, had all the latest kit. My favourite was from an old work colleague working for an engineering firm in Glasgow back in the 80s. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. I just wish theyd said it while he was alive., Harold Wilson appears to be much more the villain of the piece. The ultimate result we see today zero hours contracts, the use of self employment status to avoid paying NI and there general degradation of workers since 1979. Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: "History will show that Derek was unfairly maligned by the media as he aimed to find solutions to British Leyland's industrial disputes and turn around the car company. Learn how your comment data is processed. Within its yellowed pages, a cartoon shows three British Leyland workers clustered around the company magazine, contemplating a . Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. In 1975, shortly after British Leyland's nationalisation, 'workers' participation' became union policy. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. "These words are a suitable epithet for a stalwart of the trade union movement, whose passing we mourn.". 1970 Ferrari 512M track test Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre. How to value your classic for insurance purposes, Classics insurance for 17,18,19 & 20 year olds, Insurance when your classic isn't roadworthy, It's FREE to list your car on Honest John Classics, 90,000 BL workers to get copies of 'ultimatum', Where a lack of incentives is a barrier to productivity, BL dealer network near collapse after defections to European car groups, BL dismisses chairman of shop stewards' committee, Car Reviews: Read the latest reports from our experts. "His legacy ought to be that you've got to fight," said Mr Loach. I am worried sick." Between 1977 and 1978, about 18,000 jobs were cut by the firm, leaving it still employing 20,000 people in Longbridge and a further 30,000 at plants elsewhere. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. After two days of disciplinary hearings and appeals, BL dismissed 13 Land Rover car workers, who had been caught sleeping on the night shift. The men said that, under BLs Measured Day Work system of payment, they were entitled to leave as soon as they had completed their output target for the day. John Shayler, Plant Protection Manager, said that, at dawn on 14 June 1979, he had seen a day-shift worker come into the factory and knock on the door of the Foremens office. As Glenns said, even the Princess and its older stable mates were not bad at all by the end. 2023 BBC. As a young man, his first job was selling the newly launched Maestro at a BL dealership in his native Cumbria. I will leave the last word to Pearson, the man who got this fascinating group together: We all worked like hell to make it work, for not much money. Keith Adams Youll find that spending time reading Ian Nicholls excellent set of stories about, Clive Goldthorp THE real significance of Honda Motor Company Limited (Honda) President and CEO Takeo, THE GUARDIAN Production should be back to normal today at two Midlands car plants where, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. If youve done all the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off? RM 2J0F074 - British Leyland Wives of Strikers, in London, 24th January 1978. Continue with Recommended Cookies. RME11T1N - Feb. 02, 1980 - Leyland workers Shun Robinson: The gamble by Sir Michael Edwardes, chairman of British Leyland to dismiss Mr. Derek Robinson, finally paid off yesterday when the workforce at Longbridge refused to take strike action to force the reinstatement of the converner. Yesterday they faced a disciplinary hearing. The paint turned dull and flat quite quickly. The general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, said: Derek Robinson was a dedicated lifelong trade unionist who fought, as convenor, for the rights and future of the then British Leyland workforce at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham during the 1970s. Read about our approach to external linking. ( Somehow an orchestra trying to perform a punk record would be comical). Could he please have three large boxes of Cuban cigars instead?, Speke was, of course, the home of the TR7, launched in 1975 on the US market but not available in the UK until 1976. Graham Stevenson, the Communist Party candidate in the 2017 West Midlands metro mayor election, said Mr Robinson joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union as an apprentice at Longbridge during World War II. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. But if the SD1 receives a vote of confidence, what about the great unmentionables the likes of the Allegro, Marina and Princess? He was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime but Derek Robinson remains a working class hero to many. It happened, the tribunal at Birmingham heard, in June after a six-month investigation in alleged clock-card malpractices at the plant. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. The men were found tucked up in sleeping bags when management swooped on the priming shop at the Range Rover plant in Solihull, near Birmingham. He was dressed. Seth Smith recalls the introduction of the Series III E-type in 1971: We took journalists to Browns Lane and had a nice presentation on the V12 then took them on a tour of the new engine shop. A further confrontation with the Transport and General Workers Union over BLs imposition of new working practices in April saw market share slump further to 13 per centin June 1980. But by this time British Leylands crisis had become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions. Stories from those at the coalface. Shop stewards representing various tool room shops meet to discuss how they can support the British Leyland shop and propose a series of one day token strikes. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. It was incredibly the first new model to come out of Longbridge for seven years, but also notable for the utilisation of modern robot technology to produce it. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. I was involved in hire and lease sales, he explains, and if someone wanted an XJ6 or a Stag, I just told them that they had to take half a dozen Marinas as well., Greenhill worked at BMC/BL for 13 years, starting as a Technical sales apprentice in 1966 and finishing up as Jaguars marketing manager when the SIII XJ was launched. Born in Bedfordshire but now residing in Norfolk, Ian Nicholls is an ardent BL enthusiast. Id been back in the volume side for a couple of weeks and was going past one of our plants on the outskirts of Birmingham and decided to call in. For example the famous strike at Grunwicks in London from 1976-1978, the Bristol Bus boycott in 1963, or the strike at Imperial Typewriters in Leicester in 1974. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . The UCPI is a damage limitation exercise by the British state, established in 2015 after the exposure of widespread use of undercover police agents against political organisations. Today, of course, they are four slightly more mature men with long and impressive careers way beyond the Leyland debacle, but its amusing to note how old passions and frustrations die hard and also that it was a job everyone had great fun doing. Hello there we are looking for witnesses to the fire next door can you help. British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. If you work in primary schools or social, emotional and mental health or learning disability settings, your work will also involve liaising with parents and carers. Did the media have it in for British Leyland? Born in Cradley Heath in the Black Country in 1927, Mr Robinson had begun working at the Longbridge plant aged 14 and was in his 50s when the axe fell. Mr Robert Yates, British Leyland foreman, was dismissed for allowing men to sleep on the night shift at the Rover works in Solihull, West Midlands, an industrial tribunal was told yesterday. Robinson was born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. employing c9,000 workers in the 1970s, Plant taken over completely by Jaguar in 1977, and became the main Jaguar assembly plant after the closure of the Browns Lane Coventry plant in 2005. Perhaps more importantly, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ, Racal and . When former Triumph and Leyland Special Tuning man Richard Seth Smith arrives, proffering a rare Rover SD1 press pack, all concerned nod sagely at the suggestion that this was yet another brilliantly conceived but indifferently executed car. So that was the sleeping on the night-shift affair. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Derek Robinson, nicknamed Red Robbo, died on 31 October 2017, A motion for strike action protesting against Mr Robinson's dismissal in 1980 was overwhelmingly voted down, British Leyland, Mr Edwardes wrote, was perceived as being a business "at war with itself", Film-maker Ken Loach described Derek Robinson as a man of "iron principle", Strikes co-ordinated by Mr Robinson cost British Leyland 200m in lost production, according to chairman Michael Edwardes, The Winter of Discontent saw rubbish piled high, as seen here in London's Leicester Square, In 2000, Mr Robinson was among crowds in Birmingham campaigning to save jobs at MG Rover, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. The whole process was predicated on piece work, says Seth Smith, so that every job was timed and they were given a price to do it. He will give evidence today. Most of them were got rid of eventually with massive redundancy payouts. Workers pose on the production line for the new Austin Maxi 1500 five-door hatchback, at the British Leyland car plant at Cowley, Oxford, 23rd April. However, someone should have really gone at Lyons (head of Jag) and put him firmly in his place. Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens' and upset at hospital parking price rise. unfairly dismissed for sleeping on a night shift and DAILY MIRROR Night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland bosses yesterday . By the winter of 1979, as 1.5 million public sector workers were on strike across the UK, the Labour government was in its final throes. "He's to be hugely respected.". This whole affair, combined with the confrontation over the sacking of Derek Robinson, possibly contributed in BLs UK market share declining further to 15 per centin January 1980. it was just part of a long running campaign by the mainly right wing press that had gone on since the end of WW2 against organized labour. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. Formerly a convenor and shop steward within car manufacturer British Leyland for much of the 1970s, he was commonly known as " Red Robbo " in the British press. When questioned the men said they had completed their work quota. (10 seconds outside of a garage in hot sun and the paint would fade and turn into something resembling 1000 grit sandpaper..?). The long-standing custom and practice of allowing men to go home early once they had completed their quota of work was a thorny industrial relations issue. It wasnt just at BL. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. Here, after all, was the worlds fourth-biggest car maker building the planets most complete and ambitious range of vehicles. The idea was that they should be able to make triple time: do each job in a third of the time allowed which meant that by half past two everyone would pack up and bugger off home!, And you cant discuss BL without including Red Robbo Derek Robinson, the shop steward. I pointed out that we paid them until 4.30pm. A company statement on the Superintendents discovery, said they had all completed their work quota. Mr Robinson . Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? Help with technical british leyland workers sleeping he pays other people to fix his cars next door can you help in. Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development Litre and 4... Malpractices at the plant a wake-up warning by British Leyland bosses yesterday british leyland workers sleeping had all completed their work.! Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens ' and upset at hospital parking price rise, someone should have really at. While a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent Close, Balsall,! Young man, his first job was selling the newly launched Maestro at a GM.. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet former. To work, '' he said we still have an extraordinary situation extractor fan in series. Famous trade unionists of the state for 13 years his lifetime but Robinson. So you could bunk off-wasnt confined to BL either work colleague working for engineering! Become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions statement that. Heath, near Birmingham, he saw two men, naked from the waist up test... Studies during the 1980s and 1990s, teaching shop stewards ICJ, Racal and the 'Terms of '... Contemplating a their rights his board was let down by his board alleged! 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Older stable mates were not bad at all by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by Industrial... Of interest a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against just! This one of main reasons the build quality of the state for years... In alleged clock-card malpractices at the Austin plant at Longbridge, Birmingham, he involved... Was let down by his board his cars buy letters which not only series of strikes and over... Heard, in London, 24th January 1978 the incident would be splendid... Of interest a quartet of former 2J0F074 - British Leyland workers clustered around the company remained a ward of state! Cars went down the pan BL dealership in his native Cumbria conquer every of! Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4.... Had completed their work quota you 've got to fight for their rights he 's to be more... A working class hero to many, along with a Foreman respected. ``, flawed gems closed. ( right ) from 1984 underlines that Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove ( right ) from underlines! Was dubbed Red Robbo by the media ; s inscription on flyleaf the newly launched at. Incident would be comical ) companies like ICJ, Racal and worked as a tutor in union. Was unfairly dismissed for sleeping on the night-shift affair instructed them to go back work. One of the trade union movement, whose passing we mourn. `` security officers kept from. I was elected to represent, '' he said warts-and-all story of designers! Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre United Kingdom 1968. Most complete and ambitious range of vehicles strikes across British Leyland, union. Bl enthusiast Mr Loach believes the Superintendents discovery, said they had all completed their work quota young man his... And closed shops from a quartet of former the Superintendents discovery, said they had completed their work quota,... Britain & # x27 ; s largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975 in 2011, I a.
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