Six month reprieve

WOLVERHAMPTON: From A SIX-MONTH reprieve from redundancy has been won by workers at the Willenhall Car Radiator Company, near Wolverhampton.

Yesterday a mass meeting at the factory voted overwhelmingly to return to work on Monday after hearing the terms of an agreement negotiated by shop stewards and local union officials.

The tactory has been dispute since February 14.

The agreement means a full resumption of work by all 875 workers at the factory, including 79 whose jobs had previously been threatened.

If after three months management still claim they have surplus labour, they can approach the unions involved — the vehicle builders and the sheet metal workers-for negotiations.

Short-time working would be implemented for a further threemonth period while these talks took place.

Arthur Tudor, the works' convenor, told Workers Press after yesterday's meeting that he was, broadly speaking, happy with the agreement.

'It's a tribute to the solidarity of the strike and the way our members picketed the factory,' he said.

•What I like particularly is that it gives us the chance to negotiate a security of employment agreement with the company, although obviously we're got a lot of building to do there' But the terms of the return, although sweetened by holiday pay and for the two Bank holiday days the works were out, do not banish the redundancy threat permanently.

The management simply hopes that any redundancy which may prove necessary could be dealt with by voluntary means.

There is also dissatisfaction on the shop floor with a £1.50 pay rIse the workers are due receive - backdated to April 1.

It is now being unfavourably compared with a £3 rise given to staff.

BRITAIN is expected to contact the Soviet Union soon to discuss the Vietnam crisis.

There has been no indication here whether Britain will make any specific proposals to the Soviet Union or will simply examine possible courses of action.:

Britain, as co-chairman with the Soviet Union of the Geneva Conference on Indo-China, has been in touch with the United States both in Washington and in London about the crisis.

LATENEWS NEWS DESK 01-720 2000 CIRCULATION 01-622 7029 EIGHT HUNDRED workers at Davy Manufacturing, Darnall, Sheffield, part of the Davy United group, yesterday decided to occupy their plant to back their demand for higher pay.

A mass meeting rejected a company offer of up to £1.92 for skilled engineers. A ban on taking finished goods out of the factory has already built up a backlog of production worth more than £1.5m. registered as & newspaper at the lost Olice Clapham High Workers Press, 1868 Street, London, SW4 7UG.

Tinted by Ploush Press Ltd. (TU), 806 Claphem wauStreet, London,