Last year in the US a relatively facturer Otomobil Nasional Bersmall strike of maintenance work- had (Proton) last Autumn, Is fo provide the technological expercas at ucaeral motors sprcad rapidly through the company tise to back up this project.
Equally important is the reinvolving 20,000 workers in a couple of weeks. structuring which European The strikers' demands over out- manulacturers are currently unsourcing of work were met, at least dertaking. Part of this involves the in part. The same kind of outcome shifting of production to low cost was perfectly possible at Fords, production locations in Eastern with their densely integrated Burope - the Czech Republic, European production network. In- through Skoda, for Volkswagen dustrial action at Halewood could and Poland for Fiat and General Motors/Opel. There have also been have sparked a European cam. paign over job losses in the comnany, and in the motor industry in Western Europe, for example in more generally. Volkswagen's Seat subsidiary in Spain.
ouca a campaiga would nave been especially significant and Another strand to this competinecessary now. European car tion is constant bargaining over workers are currently facing the subsidies with national governlikelihood of a new set of manage- ments and the European Union. ment onslaughts over jobs, work- Volkswagen has recently coning conditions and productivity. cluded a lengthy dispute with the The Financial Times of Novem. EU over German government subber 14 1996 reported that Peugcot sidies lor its plant in Pastern Cicrand Renault were in discussion many, in Saxony.
The new Bover/BMW engine with the French government over plant announced for the Midlands proposais to cut thousands of tobs Some reports put the figure of pos- in November was aparently de.
pendent on about E45-£S0 million sible sob losses as high 3s 40,000. Similar cuts e sewhere are on the of government aid The Halewood agreement also LABOUR councils throughout the country are 'preparing for government by pushing through cuts in basic services, axing thousands of jobs - while unIons stand idly by.
Councillors are under strict orders from Tony Blair's Millbank HO to make cuts rather than "rock the boat' by raising council taxes or by campalgning for more cash The same pressure has clearly been broucht to bear on national union leaders, who have raised not a bleat as social services, education, leisure services and road maintenance jobs are slashed to balance the books of berough and county councils.
Liverpool is cutting E6.9m from its E120m social services budget. North Yorkshire Is cutting €5m from a social service budget of €70m: but the campaign to defend front-line services is being led not by the unions but by a coalltion of voluntary agencies.
In Wakefield, however UNISON Is balloting members for action in protest at cuts which threaten 650 lobs across the council. with £3.5m (8%) to be hacked from Newcastle social services decutting back services to the bare statutory minimum, while it axes a children's home, increases charges and cuts ten social work posts.
East Sussex, facing a E7.3m deficit on social services, is warning that community care will be available only to those in the most extreme need.
One of the biggest cuts packages is in Oxfordshire, where the potential E20m-plus shortfall is so vast that even the Tory group joined forces with Labour to endorse a budget E6m above John Gummer's "cap" - making it apparently the only county to challenge the government's budget squeeze.
But with the prospect of a Labour government carrying out its threats to uphold Tory spending limits, the county faces the probability of E4m cuts in education, £3.2m in social services, almost E1m from museums, art and lelsure. Eim from road maintenance and E1.6m from environmental SUCES A vigorous local campaign linking puonc sector ana orner unions with voluntary organisations is pledged to battle the Oxfordshire cuts up to and after the General Election. But without more sustained campaigns in other affected areas, the chances of success are limited. 100r jon i ecre the
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