The Fisher Bendix issue began to look like mushrooming into a general fight against redundancies in a historically militant working class area. 'If you carry out this plan we'll do a Fisher Bendix on you', became a popular phrase amongst worker militants.
The determination of the workforce, the effective blacking and the growing solidarity movement frightened Sir Jules Thorn. In trying to close down a single factory he had put his whole vast empire at risk. Settling Fisher Bendix became his top priority A growing solidarity movement that was prepared to fight the Tories with action was also of considerable concern to the Labour and trade union bureaucrats. After only three weeks Harold Wilson, whose constituency is near Merseyside, intervened in an attempt to settle the dispute. He produced a company, later to be called International Property Developers (IPD), which was prepared to take over Fisher Bendix and guarantee the work force until at least the end of 1973. So anxious were Thorn to settle the issue that they guaranteed IPD a profit of 9 per cent for nine months. Trade and Industry.
After a feasibility study, during which the workers were persuaded to agree to rotating lay-offs, Benn announced to a factory meeting on 6 September that the DTI had agreed to the setting up of a workers' co-operative on the model of Triumph Meriden. the cov ernment injected f4.9 million, of which about £2 million went to pay off IPD's debts. The remaining money will not be enough to equip the plant and, unless the workers increase productivity, the £30,000 weekly loss will have to come out of the grant.
The Labour Government, via Benn and the DTI, has been deeply involved in most of the co-operative ventures - all the major ones have required government loans or occupierof