Thornycroft workers in York to lobby the talks BLMC have made yet another serious error of judgement over the determination of the Thornycroft workers to stand firm in their fight against redundancies. The settlement proposals reached at the 'top-level' talks in York between British-L eyland and the union leaders have been rejected by two mass meetings as providing no basis for a settlement at all. The Basingstoke occupation is now in its third month, and will go on. So sure were they that the York proposals would bring the occupation to an end, that when production at their A.E.C. Southall plant was forced to a halt (due to the supply of gearboxes drying up), British-Leyland kept on the workers there at full pay for over two weeks. They believed that if the pretence of not laying off the A.E.C. workers could be maintained, then the Thornycroft workers would be discouraged at their lack of success in stopping production elsewhere in the BLMC combine. But with the rejection of these proposals by the Thornycroft workers, there is now clearly a prospect of layoffs, and the A.E.C, workers will have to decide on how to respond. The main tactic being discussed there is a strike, but an occupation in solidarity with Thornycroft's would be far less divisive and could give a big impetus to the solidarity movement in the rest of the combine.
The York proposals contained nine points, beginning with a statement that the takeover by the Eaton Corporation would be moved back from 1 October, 1972 to 15 January, 1973, and that work would be "guaranteed" for six months for a "balanced workforce of 738 employees" (this would mean several hundred redundancies). Everything that BLMC was to 'concede' was so heavily qualified that nothing was really conceded at all: for instance, BLMC would undertake to place orders with Eaton's, but this would be "subject to market conditions" (Le. Eatons' gearboxes would have to be cheaper than anyone else's), and again, when new product opportunities arise, "full consideration" will be given to the "possibility" of production in Basingstoke, according to the "circumstances of the case". On the other hand, the chief demand on the unions was quite definite: they must undertake to end the blacking of Thornycroft and Eaton products.
The fact that the proposals delay the takeover until 15 January, when Eaton's would agree to employ at "prevailing rates and conditions, and in terms of existing collective agreements", is, of course, no concession whatever. It simply means that Eatons are putting the onus on BLMC to "sort things out at Thornycrofts before the deal finally goes through.
MEETINGS The proposals were first put to a meeting, on Sunday, 8 October, of those workers who had been actively involved in the occupation; they were turned down by 312 votes to 8. For organising the meeting this way, however, the occupation committee came under fire; it was alleged that allowing only occupying' workers into the meeting amounted to rigging, and that the vote taken was invalid. In answering this charge, Len Smart, the spokesman for the committee, quite correctly said that, "We only allowed those people taking part in the sit-in to attend because these are the people making the sacrifices. Others who have been sitting on their backsides or doing other jobs have done nothing to produce the present improved situation.' The national leadership of the AUEW (the main union of the nine involved) issued a statement saying that the proposals would again be put to the vote, this time at a public meeting in an open place, to be attended by the entire workforce. To this the occupation committee responded by insisting that the meeting must be held inside the factory gates and that only cardcarrying trade union members could participate. (This counter-statement was the first one from the committee not to be published in the local paper, the Southern Evening Echo - but the meeting did finally take place, on Thursday 12th, as laid down by the committee.)
The eagerness of management and unions alike to secure a quick settlement without satisfactorily meeting any of the demands raised, backfired, for the mass meeting of over 600 workers voted 2 to 1 to reject the proposals and fight on.
The decision of these two meetings has effectively thrown the ball back into the court of BLMC and the union leaderships. The message is clear: we're sitting-in until our demands are met. The experience of the first round of talks at York has hardened resistance to any sell-out cooked up at national level, and the Thornycroft workers have now established the principle that the terms of any settlement will have to be agreed to by themselves. The mood inside the factory is one of trumph, combined with a will to getting down to practical steps to increase the pressure on BLMC. Flying pickets to other plants in the BLMC combine are being used to explain what is going on at Thomycroft's, to collect funds, and to build up support for solidarity action to be taken.
SUPPORT Support, bon moral and tinancial, has been coming in, but still only at a trickle compared to what is really necessary; it is coming from other plants in the BLMC combine (over £700 from A.E.C. Southall alone), from local Basingstoke factories, and from student unions (E40 was donated by a union meeting at York University and E100 at Reading together with messages of support). What is still urgently needed, however, is for this support to be translated into concrete action. This is something which rests largely in the hands of the shop stewards in the Bus & Truck division of BLMC.
The Thornycroft workers have told the negotiating committees of their respective unions to go back and negotiate again, and to make sure that they return with the 1000 jobs they are demanding. Inside the occupation morale is high; jokes are already being told about how mince pies will have to be brought in at Christmas, and one worker was heard to say, "If the Fine Tubes workers can stay out for three years, we can stay in for a while longer if we have to."
All cheques, messages of support, etc., should be sent to : -JOINT UNIONS OCCUPATION COMMITTEE, The Board Room.
Thornycroft's, Worting Road, Basingstoke, Hants.