THERE ARE four basic elements of the NTs, which combine into an overall strategy for the bosses to revolutionise the production process. They are an attack on trade unions, a restructuring of the workforce, changing working practices, and then an ideological offensive.
The assault on trade unions has been sharpest in the printing and publishing sector, where there has been derecognition and an attempt to destroy the NUJ.
In other sectors, derecognition has not been the key thing, but there has been an attempt to empty union recognition of all of its content. This includes no strike agreements, compulsory arbitration, personal contracts and performance related pay.
This goes down to the most petty and arbitrary things like attacking facility time and the union dues check-off system.
Restructuring of the workforce involves forcing down labour costs through the creation of a 'core workforce' and a 'periphery workforce, using partworkers. temporary workers and sub-contracting.
These things have been used for a long time in catering, hotels and retailing. Now we've seen it coming into the public sector and manufacturing. ple think of first with the NMTs. namely changing working practices through things like team working. quality circles and so on. But this varies a lot in different industries. ATTEND UNION MEETINGS! and take responsibility for scrutinising the work of others.
Of course all these things don't happen in every sector at the same time. Managers are troduce: but they now have a coherent set of practices to draw on to revolutionise production and working practices- all at the expense of the workers.
By a car worker THE IDEOLOGY of the NTs is very detailed and very developed. In the forefront of this ideology are Cardiff University lecturers Dan Jones and Gareth Reese. who began their work on the car industry.
Jones book, The Machine That Changed the World, claims the NMTS are leading to the cho of capitansa: (NOW they have got 55m to do re-