If you want to see the true horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the ship building industry. The number of strikes was incredible., On the subject of closed shops, Greenhill says: There was a discussion as to whether the sales office where I worked should become a closed shop. Yesterday they faced a disciplinary hearing. 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. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. Where can you get cheap classic car insurance? At the time of the infamous Ryder Report (and nationalisation), BL offered everything from Europes most celebrated (and imitated) small car to a 150mph V12 coup that was acknowledged as the most refined and accomplished of its type. The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers at British Leyland 515 and their suppliers were laid off as a result of the toolmakers' strike and how many hours of work so lost by this strike will be included in the published statistics of manhours lost through industrial action. The odd 1m going missing (I would have paid money to see the auditors face when they found that little gem), contractors doing nothing for weeks at 100 a day because the bloke who set the administration lock password buggered off for sunnier climes without telling anyone what it was. Buried deep somewhere in that automotive salmagundi: an old Punch magazine. He will give evidence today. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. West Bromich police raid uncovers machete, stun gun and drugs, Kaylea Titford: What the judge told parents as he jailed them for 'horrifying' manslaughter of disabled teenager, Police launch investigation into flooding at Ladywood tower block as over 100 evacuated, MP urges rail minister to discuss Stourbridge Dasher plan. 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." Derek Robinson, trade . He also stood as a Communist Party candidate in four general elections in the city between 1966 and 1974. ( Somehow an orchestra trying to perform a punk record would be comical). To be tasked with promoting these products was one of motorings more challenging and exciting jobs, and it attracted a group of talented, ambitious, energetic and creative young people, just four of whom I have the pleasure of meeting in a West End pub. Stories from those at the coalface. The behavior of absenteeism is normally evidenced in work places where some workers may decide to make absenteeism their habit. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. What's he waiting for? The spokesman at the Land Rover plant in Solihull: We do not condone sleeping or dozing in working hours.. Doubling up as it was known-working extra fast so you could bunk off-wasnt confined to BL either. The biggest problem was scabs of rust breaking through the paint all over the car within a couple of years. In November of that year BL sacked Robinson for supporting the pamphlet titled A Trade Union Response to the Edwardes Plan, which criticised the plans proposals and the companys management. We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city? 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. 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. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? Seth Smith joined Leyland Motor Corporation as Triumph press officer in 1967, and in 1968 helped with the famous announcement of the Leyland and BMH merger. They had begun a policy of non-cooperation following the managements moves to stop workers leaving before the shift was completed. He described him as "a loud-mouth who thought he had the support of the workers". Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. Leyland was his idea from the beginning, says Seth Smith, and he told Stokes that if he didnt agree to the merger he would nationalise both companies anyway. When Wilson opened the Speke plant, it was Seth Smiths job to find the Labour PM a meaningful gift as a thank you to commemorate the event: I thought a handmade briar on a stand would be appropriate, but was told that he only smoked a pipe outdoors in public. But if the SD1 receives a vote of confidence, what about the great unmentionables the likes of the Allegro, Marina and Princess? The original Hummer isn't the first vehicle I'd think of to do a "green" trip to the South Pole. 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. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. West Bromich police raid uncovers machete, stun gun and drugs, Kaylea Titford: What the judge told parents as he jailed them for 'horrifying' manslaughter of disabled teenager, Police launch investigation into flooding at Ladywood tower block as over 100 evacuated, MP urges rail minister to discuss Stourbridge Dasher plan. BLMC was created in 1968 by the merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), encouraged by the Wilson . AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. He was credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland between 1978 and 1979, costing an estimated 200 million in lost . The struggle for equality at work. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Belated attempts to set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the Shop Stewards. Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? 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. Derek Robinson pictured leading several thousand trade unionists on a protest march after he was sacked in 1979, Mr Robinson with his partner Phyllis Davies, who was at one time a shop stewardess at Longbridge. Enter your username or email to reset your password. Mr Robinson led the fight back, organising hundreds of disputes. Your email address will not be published. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, India anti-corruption crusader fighting to clear his name, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. There was another rumour I heard that BL storemen at the time stacked boxes in the stores in such a way as to make a private room, into which they moved a table & chairs so that they could play cards.. Whether or not unions in the UK took industrial action more than unions in Europe and North America is a moot point, much of the rubbish produced by the NoW, Daily Mail etc is treated as if it was historical fact nowdays where it should be regarded as propaganda. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. 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 . Linda remembers working for British Leyland and joining the union where she started off as a shop steward before being elected as Vice Convener of ACTS, part of the Transport and General Workers Union, serving from 1970-76. The incident would be reported to the management and judged on the circumstances. A company statement on the Superintendents discovery, said they had all completed their work quota. A plan by the unions to fight for a mass-volume car manufacturing was truncated when Robinson was sacked by British Leyland in November 1979. 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. He was dressed. Fourteen night shift men caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant have been sacked , a wife claimed last night. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. It should have been a great jolly, except the BL apprentices we took to do the driving decided it was too much like hard work and went on strike after two days and the service guys withdrew their labour in sympathy!, The real dark clouds started with that sort of union behaviour, adds Simon Pearson, who began working in PR for Triumph in 1968, helped to launch the Stag in 1970 and took BL back into motorsport with Special Tuning: The genesis of those problems began right after the war. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. A spokesman said that they would Mr Arthur Scargill yesterday pledged the support of Yorkshire miners for the reinstatement of Mr Derek Robinson the shop stewards' By Edward Townsend BL's controversial 2m "Buy British" campaign, initially aimed at new car buyers, has now been directed at dealers. BL has delayed implementation of its plans for the MG factory at Abingdon in Oxfordshire because of a probable offer from the consortium. What's the best type of insurance for my 30+ year old Volvo? But taking a bed to work was a deliberate act of anticipation.. Throwback Thursday - BL's unseen concepts, 28 April 1993 (AutoCar) "The worst crime the managers of British Leyland committed during the nightmarish 1960s and 1970s was refusing pig-headedly to build decent cars - or so the critics . The Government should also be enthusiastic. It needs to be left alone. Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. I am worried sick." A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. Stories from those at the coalface. Not really, its just moved from BL to the NHS. It happened, the tribunal at Birmingham heard, in June after a six-month investigation in alleged clock-card malpractices at the plant. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, India anti-corruption crusader fighting to clear his name, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. International Socialism, April 1977. "He is quoted as saying: 'If we make Leyland successful, it will be a political victory. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. The Unite union said the "dedicated life-long trade unionist" fought for "the rights and future" of workers. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. 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. Mr Robinson was elected shop steward soon after the end of his apprenticeship and by the late 1940s was a member of the Communist Party "in which he remained for the rest of his life", Mr Stevenson said. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. A certain British steel plant would have early workers finish their work quota, do part of the late shift quota, then the late shift came in, finished off their quota and did the night shift quota too. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. 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. In his defence, Mr Yates claimed that British Leylands system of giving a measured quota of work for a shift resulted in his men never having enough work to do. As Glenns said, even the Princess and its older stable mates were not bad at all by the end. 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. Over 50,000 workers across British Leyland immediately came out on strike, including the 20,000 workers at Longbridge in . 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. Former Leyland worker Stephen Cox said Mr Robinson was regarded by many as "way out on an extreme". As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over . An uncompromising and . For Mr Stevenson, the dismissal of Red Robbo was "the first shot in the war that Thatcher began against working people and their families". DeSantis won't say he's running. He described Red Robbo as "forthright and honest" but added that "all he did was fight for the protection of the working class". 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. My favourite was from an old work colleague working for an engineering firm in Glasgow back in the 80s. The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. All Tescos success masked the reality that it was a bloated organisation staffed by inept bunglers.The brand value of Tesco was all conquering.The world is full of management knobs with university degrees in unrelated subjects, who make unrealistic demands of their underlings and tell their own bosses what they want to hear. Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. The check, which was made during the night of Thursday 15 November, had been ordered by the General Manager, Mr Robert Watson. Christopher Lunt worked at Longbridge until MG Rover - the successor company to British Leyland - went into administration in 2005. 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 I asked, What happened? I was told Well, theyve finished their stint. In fact, some had finished by one oclock. After two days of disciplinary hearings and . In May 1968 Britain's two largest car manufacturers merged to form British Leyland Motor Corporation. 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. I can't think of anyone who . The British Leyland Motor Company, BLMC, was formed back in 1968. With two successive name changes, British Leyland became BL Limited in 1979. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Derek "Red Robbo" Robinson, who has died aged 90, was the firebrand British Leyland workers' representative whose sacking in November 1979 came to symbolise Margaret Thatcher's . The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. We may as well start with the most notorious of these stories and, perhaps, the one most people remember: the case of the employees sleeping on the night shift. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. Not to mention any management off home by 3pm.Hardly surprising they send teenagers with bowel cancer hone with a suggestion that laxatives might do the trick.. "These words are a suitable epithet for a stalwart of the trade union movement, whose passing we mourn.". Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. 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. 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. Preventing home working in Pandemic days by nuisance noise is dire dilydaydreamnewneighbours, Opinion : Austin Maestro a tale of unfulfilled promise, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, 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 : Car plant strikers go back for talks. It was a fantastic shape but, when I parked it, nobody looked at it. Derek Robinson - nicknamed "Red Robbo" by tabloid newspapers - was one of the biggest names in the trade union movement . In the city between 1966 and 1974 unionists of the 70s BL cars went down the pan? through window. Had all completed their work quota them had clocked 24 or 25 cards the of... Leyland plant have been sacked, a wife claimed last night but they going... Be a political victory plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see true. 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Lyddon analyses the forces at work in British Leyland worker has died, aged 90 to...