Leyland strike today against redundancies

THOUSANDS of British Leyland workers are expected to strike today —a normal working day for them - against the hiving-off of a Leyland subsidiary with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

Over 5,000 workers at the Cowley, Oxford, Morris Motors plant will stop. Workers will also come out at other factories, including those at Bathgate, Longbridge, Leyland and Llanelli.

The sale of Transport Equipment Thornycrott, Basingstoke, raise Hants, for £5m is designed to expansion plans inside the Common Market.

Lord Stokes' empire is in such deep financial trouble-it owes £80m to the banks-that he is selling off assets to raise cash.

On August 15, 1,200 workers at Thornycroft took over • their heavy transmission factory in a bid to save their jobs.

Buyers of Thornycroft's are to be the Eaton Corporation of Ohio, USA. The price-£2tm. A company called English and Continental Property has bought the 50-acre site on which the factory stands, also for £2}m.

Thornycroft workers first heard of the deal soon after BLMC blandly announced on June 7 that 344 workers would be sacked by September 30.

In making this announcement, BLMC tore Tast procedural agreement made last summer Gordon Owen-Jones following a successful six-week strike against redundancy. For one clause stated: "Company agree that in the event of situations arising which may involve redundancy, there must be consultation at local level before final decisions are made.' WEATHER AN | ANTI-CYCLONE is almost stationary over southern Scandinavia, while a thundery trough is slow moving over nothern France.

Eastern England and Scotland will be mostly cloudy with a few sunny intervals. Southern England will be rather cloudy with some sunny intervals and perhaps a few thundery showers.

The Midlands and central northern England will be dry but rather cloudy with a few sunny intervals.

Wales, North-West England, Northern Ireland and a.' of Scotland except the East will be dry with sunny periods.

Temperatures will be near normal in most areas but it will be rather cool on the East coast. Outlook for Tuesday and Wednesday: Mainly dry with sunny periods, particularly in the West but showers in some southern counties. Rather warm in the West, but cool in the East. Office. Diet published a stret. London.

186a Clapham Street.

SW4 7UG.

Prose His Street London:

SW4 7UG. ND HORNYCRO ELL CLT REDUND ANI NO SATKI Thornycroft workers with a clear message for Lord Stokes at the occupled factory on Saturday Gear-box strikers seek Ford backing WORKERS at Creffield Engineering, Tonbridge, Kent, are to ask Ford shop stewards to back their struggle for union recognition by blacking the firm's products.

The Creffield men, who have been locked out for seven weeks, will meet the stewards on Wednesday.

If the black is imposed it will be a severe blow for the firm, part of Spa Holdings, since substantial proportion of their gearbox gand transmission products goes to Ford.

The 100 Creffield engineers want the right to organize the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers in the factory, but have met opposition from the management who have a record of hostility to unions.

Their factories at Enfield, North London, and Ashington, Northumberland, are both non-union shops and the Creffield men are planning to picket them.

On Friday a Creffield solidarity march was held through Tonbridge. Building workers, Labour Party members and the Tonbridge Young Socialists joined the engineers who shouted slogans demanding union recognition and 'Tories out!'.

Building worker George Tapp, who is also chairman of TonFANTUALT WORK IC CINTA Stokes at the occupied Thornycroft, told Workers on Saturday.

'Is everything going to be transferred to the National Bus Co in Cumberland? Are they going to have one big truck company, centralized somewhere?

'We haven't had answers from them on any of these questions,' said Owen-Jones.

Workers in the car plants will also tell you about rumours about Leyland's plan for one central car place. So there are questions to be asked about the future of Standard's and Rover's.

Lord Stokes and the rest are obviously unhappy with the state of the company.

Thornycroft is a warning to all Leyland workers. We're the sixth company which has been completely sold or half shares got rid Leyland management always tell us about their 'desperate straits' and the fact they haven't got enough money for research and development. But just after they told us of the sackings, they bridge Trades Council, sai building workers on the d monstration were proud to be associated with the Creffield Unity in action was workers needed to win their demands.

Bob Toda, chairman of strike committee, thanked marchers for their support. Court threat to PICKETS outside the Wm Griffiths concrete plant at Chartham, near Canterbury, have been told that a High Court writ is to be taken out against them.

A steward told the company wo uld go ahead with legal action 'unless we removed ourselves from company property, stopped picketing and went away' The application will be made tomorrow, the men were told. Recorded letters have been sent to the homes of the pickets informing them of the company's The dispute began eight weeks ago when six fitters-members of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers-were sacked Prisoners demand PRISONS throughout Britain will be hit by a three-day strike soon unless Home Office recognition is granted to an organization for prisoners' rights.

PROP-the Preservation Rights of Prisoners which organized strikes by prisoners in 33 STOP FREDS WORKERS, bought Innocenti in Milan and an assembly plant in Belgium.

What Leyland's are doing in this rationalization is carrying out government policy to the fullest extent.

The 1,000 workers in Basingstoke cannot change this policy on their own. It must be fought bine!l the factories in the comIf they get away with it here Leyland will carry the policy through to other parts Although it is a fight to get support from the combine, would be good if we could also get support from the wider labour movement. Our fight is the same as the dockers and the miners.

The crisis inside British Leyland is a measure of the crisis of British capitalism itself.

With exports falling and the home market being squeezed by Japanese competition, BLMC iS attempting to turn to direct production in Europe in line with entry into the Common Market.

Because of its weak financial position, it is forced to sell assets to raise the necessary cash.

In that sense Stokes has no choice but to pursue the policy he is now implementing. The crisis of Leyland and British capitalism is to be offloaded on to the backs of the working class.

If BLMC cannot guarantee jobs, the question posed is its nationalization under workers' control and without compensaThe implementation of this policy requires the TUC to call a General Strike to force the Tories to resign, and the return of a Labour government pledged to socialist policies. The 160,000 Leyland workers must now lead the fight for this campaign.

pickets for downing tools when the management refused to negotiate on a 10p-an-hour pay claim.

They have been picketing every day, and last week members of the Snowdown branch of the National Union of Mineworkers joined the line in solidarity.

Cavanagh Weaver, the fitters' steward, said: 'We feel that it's not a court order for trespassing, but an injunction to stop us exercising our basic trade union 'There's been no violence of any description during the previous eight weeks. We are prepared to go all the way in defence of our rights. union rights ails on August 4-yesterday said he date for the new stoppage would not be revealed. Strikes would involve total non-co-operation with the it-downs in the exerise yards, said a spokesman. nure exercise yards.

PASS TOBE

CE)/.:: CE WN ALL TRADES UNIONS ALLIANCE MEETINGS TUC MUST BREAK OFF TALKS WITH HEATH!

MAKE THE TORY GOVERNMENT RESIGNI NOTTINGHAM: Tuesday August 29, 7.30 p.m. People's Hali, Heathcote Street. "Victory to the building workers'.

WANDSWORTH: Tuesday August 29, 8 p.m. Selkirk Hotel, Selkirk Road, Tooting. 'Lessons of the docks strike!

EAST LONDON: Thursday August 31, 8 p.m. Festival Inn, Market Square, Chrisp Street Market, E14.

PRESTON: Wednesday August 30, 8 p.m. Railway and Commercial Hotel, Butler St_(nr allway station). The Tory government and the building CAMBRIDGE: Thursday August 31, 8 p.m. Red Cow (behind the Guild Hall). 'Lessons of the dockers and Builders' strikes'. DAGENHAM: Tuesday Septemshawe Avenue, Barking. righs of docks trike, us jobs SLOUGH: Tuesday September 5, 7.30 p.m. Slough Community Centre, Farnham Rd. 'Force the Tories out! Expose the traitors in the labour and trade union movement!' Speakers: Frank Tomany and Brian Bailey, both in a personal capacity.

Lessons of UCS and the Docks Strike.

ABERDEEN: Monday August 28, 8.00 p.m. Trades Hall, 24 Adelphl.

DUNDEE: Wednesday August 30, 8.00 р.m. YMCA Constitution Room.

Soclalist Labour League FOUR LECTURES THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF MARXIS given by (SLL national secretary)

1. Marxism as the theory knowledge Tuesday September 5 2. Development of Marxism through working-class struggle Tuesday September 12 3. Nature of the crisis Tuesday September 4. Historical materia Tuesday September AEU HOUSE Mount Pleasant Liverpool 1, 7.30