meeting with support from the Labour Government. do a job of exploiting his fellow-workers."
AL NVT, Meriden and IPD, Liverpool, where workers" cooperatives are at present being planned, the problems are more immediate. None of the workers aim to become businessmen. Neither are these schemes the brain child of some consciencestricken capitalist who wishes all rich men thought alike. It was the bankruptcy of these firms and massive redundancies that led to the co-op Idea. At Meriden. the workers have occupied the factory for over a year. At IPD. two occupations have taken place in two years.
JOBS While al Meriden the projected work-force of 800 is only balf the original 1750, there is no doubt that in both plants jobs will have been saved, at least for the present. Certainly too, the management structures of the co-ops give the workers more access to intormalion and greater involvement in decision-making.
At Meriden top managers will be employed and paid salaries, bul the 12-man supervisoty board wil' include representatives from the eight unions in the plant - along with Government and local industry. At TPD, most of the manage: ment have stayed on and will have two representatives on the board and the workers three. The workers have asked the Government to appoint the General Manages.
But everywhere There are real dangers. When a single factory goes