BIRN RADES Lover lon right to go with their jobs to Cowley, and they have issued them with letters saying they are under BMW. But they have issued others The under Alchemy, and a further group letters saying that fight they are These latter must now argue UVCH who be their employer. All of this means that have varying chances of jobs, and varying • ALAN THORNETT's • gripping account of the fight for jobs and conditions in the • Cowley car plant, • from the mid 1970s • to the 1990s. • E10 plus £1.50 post and packing from Socialist • Outlook, PO Box • 1109, London N4 2U KEEPING TH SAVE enationt over M SAVE: redundancy money. Imis is classic alviac against U080S offered no alternative.
workers still don't or not. Woodley has already asked BMW about redundancy terms.
The company knows that this will weaken the possibility of getting a fight off the UNITED IN BUy CASAVELE SAVE SEVE -SAME SOME AVER OUR JOBS IT ORGANISE atonalise | AMSAVE IR JOBS monalise GUR JOBS move to occupy soon, it will diate mass meeting, and the the workforce choice of occupation put to will be too divided and the moment will have been lost. If action is taken, it would There should be an imme- be a real alternative to the Byers' inaction would get personal help in finding another one. new. mean. system for tie unemployed present pathetic begging by union leaders for scraps of! the capitalist table. An occupied Longbridge could be the focus of resistance for the 100,000 workers in the midlands and Essex who would be affected by the closure of Longbridge and the threatCice Dagenham plant. Others could be asked to demand for nationalisation put forward. This could also give hope to the shipyard workers and others massive potential job losses. If no action is taken, then divisions will be sharpened di and workers will be fighting cach other.
In Cowley, where the shop floor is on a four week layoli, the workers have the impresried about is keeping mini at Longbridge, and that the closure of cowicy would not worry him.
In Solibull, workers have been sulica into a raise schsc of security by the continuing CYCHE continued employment of PEEL agency workers.
The maior lesson of Rover Rena is that going to the employer • as Woodley did ROVI in 1998, giving all kinds of shift and productivity con80 38 ac Ou WO Col litions for the working class.
COW CO DACK the same position, ralling down of conditions.
Far from representing salvation for jobs and conditions, John lowers was the man who forced through the *Rover Tomorrow' document in 1996 - toe tirst major sysescue Rover it would "nake sure everyone who lost their jot In other wores at the ruboish about parumenty consisteer "dearing" Stephen Byers, and affirming that he had not known Even if he had known, the government would have done noth ing - except press gang redundant Rover workers into their All of the parliamentar, antics so far have done nothing but play for time. Byers is backing the Towers bid not because Towers is a personal friend bur because it diverts workers away from any kind of independent action, and makes it soom as if tematic attack on conditions, in which he argued that we nad to fonow Japan to sutViVe. It was this document that contained the "jobs for lite' clause, also endorsed by BMW. Clearly, this clause given by the company in Ford's for conditions meant nothing. Towers will doubtless be looking to gain further concessions, seeing how desperate Woodley is. The workers at Cowley will be asked to facing make sacrifices to get the mini. Meanwhile Ford will models between plants to make deals at the expense of Solibull workers. can only be fought by a united struggle. led by Longbridge taking the call for the nationalisation of Kover and Ford, not to com pete in mass car production, in which working conditions are forced down, but to line up with a renationalised railthe way industry, in the development of a properly planned public transport system, that should be run by the workers and consumers. All negotiations and • Unions must represent members, not join employers as par Occupy Occupy Longbridge the spi- • Unite car workers, end concession bargaining • Call a demonstration in London • Nationalise Rover and Dagenham, under the control of the workers.
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ESAKE SAVE SAVE OUR JOBS SAVE
Rover jobs fight LAND ROVER WORKERS
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