The question of lay-off pay in the car industry has become an important focus for action in recent months. Never before has this source of disunity on the shop floor been tackled in such a determined manner. This is a spontaneous response to the decline in real wages caused by the defeats of Phase 2, and the subsequent rise in prices and mortgage rates. The loss of earnings resulting from unpaid lay-offs has thus hitten more deeply than ever before, and workers are seeking every means available to increase their earnings without directly confronting the pay laws.
VAUXHALL'S Workers at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire, are in the lead; 9,000 men are either, on strike or laid off at this factory.
The dispute started when 70 men in the new seat-frame section of the assembly plant went on strike demanding negotiating rights. As on prevous occasions, work throughout the plant ground rapidly to a halt as supplies of the component they produced tam out. But the Vauxhal! workers are covered by an agreement which guarantees lay-off pay oniy it the stoppage is caused by some extermal factor. The entire plant struck, demanding that once a worker has docked on, he should be paid for the rest of the shift.
The trial of the Coventry 7 at BirSo determined are the men that they turned down a management offer under which lay-off pay would be awarded for a trial period of two months, In return for this they would have to accept an inter-union com mittee to 'examine the plant's labour problems. Not only have the men voted to continue the strike, but they have demanded the abolition of the present rule under which lay-off pay, for any cause, will only be paid for a period of 25 consecutive days. BRITISH LEYLAND In British Leyland, Cowley, a similar struggle only just failed to get off the ground. Two weeks ago the Tyre Bay Small Section, which is vital to production, stopped work after a series of foot injuries. The dispute was settled after three days when the company got a boot company to "donate" safety boots as a publicity gimmick, thus enabling them to avoid conceding the principle. Bur Cowley workers as a whole have lost an average of seven weeks pay through unpaid lay-offs in the last year, and this time the night shift voted to sit-in until full payment was promised. As the day shift came into work the IMG distributed a special issue of its factory bulletin, The Organiser, This explained the Туте Bay settlement and urged support for the night shift's initiative. It cilled fora mass meeting to decide on action. There was a strong response from the wor kens work did not start, and the ing Frank Kelly's house without a Ford workers await report on negotiations during last dispute -Assembly Shop gathered for a meetIng.
STRUGGLE HEADED OFF Mindful of the flare-ups at Ford and Vauxhall, management responded by threatening a lock-out if the men did not return to work immediately. The senior stewards were not willing to lead an action over lay-off pay, and read out a statement, approved by high level management, blaming the stoppages on minonty action, ruting out payment for anyone, and threatening indefinite closure of the South Works unless work was resumed by by mid-day. reversal of existing agreements 0n discipline and procedure for shutdowns. Although the stewards ne commended a return to work, they rejected these conditions, which would seriously undermine the shop stewards movement in the factory: and they will be a focus al new struggles if the management try to impose them. British Leyland thus headed off the struggle over lay off pay, but only by the fiercest intimiCONFUSION AT FORDS Some weeks ago a night shift at Fords occupied minagement affices and won the concession of one day's lay off pay for the first line ever. Following this, stewards agreed that on the next necasina workers would sit-in and demand work.
But when, a couple of weeks later. there was a dispute over the victimi sation of a Body Plant worker and lay offs bepan to occur, there was armense cantusion: Although section of workers did strike and demand layoff pay, they were isolated by the lack of co-ordinated lender ship on the part of the Communist Party stewards in Fords.
Although this struggle was nipped in the bud, workos at Ford are stil they plun to stage a number of public operatiog an overtime ban. This will be used as a reminder to the comby union leaders pressing for lay-off pay during the annual negotiations next year ONCE AND FOR ALL GAIN Losses in pay caused by lay-offs has been a major cause of disunity a mongst car workers for many years The usefulness of this disunity for the employers can be seen in the Ford management's satement, that to concede lay-off pay woald be to surrender managements on.3 sanction apainst irresponsible strikons, and in the red-baiting outbursts of industrial relations chiefs Gilbert, Humt of Chrysler and Put Lowry of Lesland Altbough guacanteed lay off pay will not produce an automatic solation to the problem of uniting workers in the car industry, it would cuminate a major cause of dixision and woule be a once and for il gair for the workers. Management threats and the actien of trade union leaders al various levels have for the time being headed off the offensive al Ford: and Leyland's, bur it is procisely such a struggle, across the industry, which could generate the unity and spirit needed for against Phase 3. black picket lines during the Mans