Fears at Thornycroft about jobs talks

WORKERS at the occupied British-Leyland plant in Basingstoke fear that national union officials may try and compromise their 12-week struggle against sackings. Engineers at the Thornycroft transmission and heavy gear box plant took over the factory on August 15 to stop Leyland's plans to hive off the OCTOBER FUND £62.35 GO ALL OUT THIS WEEKEND plant.

The buyers, the Eaton Corporation of Ohio, were supposed to have taken over last Monday. They bought the factory off Leyland for £2÷m.

Eaton's only have a three-year lease on the plant and want to cut back the labour force.

Thornycroft workers say Eaton's have plans to shift much of the work to their Bolton factory and will eventually close down the Basingstoke plant.

On Tuesday Pat Lowry, British-Leyland's industrial relations officer, travelled to Blackpool for a five-hour meeting with national officials at the Labour Party conterence.

A further meeting is now planned in • York for next Wednesday. And on the following day Eaton's will join the discussions.

At the Blackpool meeting British-Leyland promised officials plans of their future hiving-off On the other hand, we know that there is growing support for provides the political leadership to fight back against all these attacks. More than ever, a movement is growing to make the Tory government resign.

This weekend, therefore, Is decisive. With a special effort, you can change the position for our Fund. Go into action today. Raise all you can. Post all donations immediately to:

October Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG. and manpower policy, said Tom Lewis, occupation committee member, yesterday.

'Apparently Leyland said they have already raised their £25m cash they were after. All we've found out about their future plans is that they want to hiveoff two more factories involving The occupation committee is strongly opposed to next Wednesday's meeting.

It's diabolical, added Tom Lewis. 'It seems they want to separate us off from Leyland as a whole. I think they would like to clear us out of the way of a possible agreement with Leyland on their future policy.

'As far as we are concerned there shouldn't be a meeting at all. Leyland is in breach of a redundancy agreement they made with us last year. We shouldn't speak to them in this situation.' "The only guarantee we've got is our ability to fight to keep our jobs. It would be wrong to say we're suspicious of the national officials. But we have our fears and that's why we're going to lobby the York meeting.

This view was forcefully expressed to AUEW national official Bill John at Blackpool by Thornycroft convenor Gordon Owen-Jones and Leyland convenor Len Brindle.

Yesterday the morning shift at the Basingstoke plant passed motion declaring that no deal was to be signed by a national official. Any Leyland offer had to be first brought back to the factory.

They will be sending a load of men to York to the Wednesday meeting.

Eaton's have again this week offered a 'guarantee' of work to 737 men for a 15-month period— subject to 'market conditions'.

But Thornycroft workers point out that considering Eaton's future production plans, there is not even enough work for this number. coach lobby