Union in secret talks with B-Leyland

BRITISH-LEYLAND industrial relations director Pat Lowry is soon present union leaders with plans for sweeping changes in pay ánd procedure withip the Their central theme will be abolition of piecework as the dominant pay in the £410 million British giant's 67 plants.

Lowry, director- of the er Engineering employers Federation. ausC wants to introduce new and disputes procedures which Colle mean Levane finally leaving the Federation while sweetening the whole itter pill by presenting it a in agreement for lay-off pay A previous set of proposals rejected by union leaders in July this year under strong pressure from Leyland's official, but noneme ecc powerful combine trade union committee.

But • compan spokesman resterday told Worker Press that had met union leaders informal G1S. Cussiong "several times , since then and the talks will continue. • • Avoid publicity 'No statements were issued, by agreement - I think both sides wanted to avoid publicity. The specific DrODOSa put to the unions at the Isle of Man were unacceptable, of Course 'But I don't think the basic idea was entirely chucked out.' Leyland is now the crossfire of a more vicious international motor-industry trade war and undermine the gains made in the last decade by its highly. organized labour force.

Every section of workers at its newly redeveloped Austin. Cowley visitord have beet Morris division Closure, told that Corley will become 'ghost teken to York union-employer conference and back again— all as part of the managepiecework ca with Measureplace ment's work (See 'MDW threat', col. 7)

But as previously reported in Workers Press two sections of workers this week delivered stinging and decisive blows against this campaign Last Sunday, 200 stewards at Cowley's PressedSteel Fisher body plant met hear details of Leyland's Measured-Day Work scheme. mously rejected irand unaniBoycotted works conference anshich the company hoped proposals for an pay SystemE production- lines "in the Morris boycotted sembly plant was oficials and senior stewards of all three main car unions.

Unions insisted that the company's reference should take its place in the Carter five omer issues works-conference level and 34 already awaiting discussion outstanding al works-manage. and branch-manager levels. On the following sing been a what can only panic move, Cowley divisior director Ian Shoe an ent red the heads unions issued an unprecedented letter to all Morris workers.

Ford-st outines the

threatens to press them at the next stage of the York procedure-local conference.

Stewards believe that a large number of copies of this letter had by yesterday been angrily torn up and scattered to those Cowley's four winds that were interested.

The letter outlined Leyland's proposals for a flat hourly pay-rate of around 18s 6d, guaranteed minimum annual earnings, with an annual rate review and guarantees of a full day's money for each day men are called to work.

Even this would mean pay cut for many Morris workers, but the letter goes on to outline Leyland's speedup plans: acceptance of workmeasurement and methodstudy to police a high standard rate of production known as 100 BSI. ( Showan's letter — like Lowry's behind-the-scenes discussions with union leaders— illustrates very clearly a point insisted on repeatedly by and their Tory friends at Westminster have feet of clay.

Significant If Leyland's MDW plans are rolled back at Oxford, a significant victory will be won on behalf of workers all over the country.

Those revisionist gentlefolk of the so-called International Socialism' group, who say that the working class cannot fight productivity deals and must resort to manoeuvres against the Tories' Industrial Relations Bill, will be given the lie.

British-Leyland is in a crisis, the sharp point of that crisis is in Oxford and it is there that the combine can and will be defeated.

It is in this way that the Tories—their anti-union laws, their attacks on the low-paid and the sick, their plans to decimate the nationalized industries and swell the dole queues-can be brought to account.

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