THE 37 sacked car transport workers, employed by Mainland Car Deliveries in Milton, Oxfordshire, have now been on strike for four weeks.
The strike started over the company's decision to break an agreement they had with the union ensuring no sackings before August.
Nine redundancies were announced, including the leading shop steward. After an immediate stoppage the drivers returned to work, and went through the legal procedures of a ballot, giving seven days notice.
During this time the company moved many of the cars out of their distribution depot. On the day the strike started they were all sacked.
Since the strike began the company has not moved any of the cars out of the depot, but by the use of outside drivers they have managed to get the last of the trans. porters out.
Milton is the depot through which all Rover cars from both Cowley and Longbridge are distributed throughout the south of England.
Non-union
Cars from these two olants are now being taken to Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire, or Ely in Cambridgeshire, the depot for East Anglia, which is mainly nonThe strikers are very determined, and are maintaining a 24-hour picket on the Milton depot, hoping to stop the cars being moved.
The problem is that the cars they would normally be transporting from the car plants are now being moved, by-passing Milton.
Despite the fact that they have done everything legally, and have been sacked, the strikers have had little official support from the TGWU.
As we go to press they have had only one visit to their picket line by a TGWU other workers in the industry. official. The strike tent and We must try to make all their facilities have had to these disputes an example be provided by the strikers of union solidarity. Resoluthemselves; they don't even tions from TGWU branches have a mobile phone. should be sent to Region 5 The union did talk to and the Executive demandRover, but the talks excluded ing more active support, and the strikers and did not seem trying to get a boycott of to get anywhere. MCD within Rover, at Ely The full resources of the and at the receiving garages. TGWU are needed to back Oxford Trades Council has these strikers. Like the formed a support group and sacked Chelmsford Badger- will be doing everything posline busworkers, they are be- sible to gain support for the ing used by the employers strikers, especially in Rover. as an example to intimidate
By Roy Leach (NUT Executive, personal capacity) require repudiation' of unofficial action.
The proposed one-day strike was a key part of the left's alternative strategy for old diet of petitions, letterwriting and cosy meetings with opinion formers.
While in the long run the inevitable failure of this soSOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 86, June 24 1995, Page 5.