Learn lessons of Dagenham
Act now to save Vauxhall jobs!
Unions must end concession bargaining!
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General Motors announced its decision to axe 4,000 jobs across Europe, and to close its Vauxhall car assembly plant in Luton with the loss of 2,200 jobs, on Tuesday December 12th. (The corporation has since announced it is also slashing 15,000 jobs in its US plants).
The following day Vauxhall workers launched a militant and spontaneous occupation Vauxhall's headquarters, Griffin House in Luton. The occupation forced Vauxhall Chairman, Nick Reilly, to come out and try to explain management's decision to close the plant. He got nowhere, and retreated under police protection.
There was another brief but angry occupation the following day. Such actions could hardly have show more clearly the strong feelings of the work force.
On December 13th workers at General Motors' (GM) Ellesmere Port plant walked out on strike in support of the Luton assembly plant, as did workers at the Luton spare parts warehouse. There was also a spontaneous walkout at the huge GM Opel plant at Bochum in Germany.
GM were playing a tactical game in Luton - not a new one, but an effective one. They made their announcement of the closure of the plant on December 12 knowing that the plant was about to be closed down for a month - from the 15th of December until the 15th of January.
Management hoped that feelings would evaporate during that period of time. Their announcement posed workers with the need for an immediate occupation of the plant in advance of the shutdown, which would have been the most effective action - giving the work force confidence that a fight was going to take place and they would not have to look for individual solutions.
In the event there was not even a mass meeting before the shutdown began. During the shutdown they set about divide and rule - by issuing letters detailing redundancy payments, obviously hoping that a part of the work force would accept this.
At the same time - in exactly the same way that Ford management announced some new jobs in the Dagenham engine plant after announcing the end of car assembly in Dagenham - Vauxhall management revealed the 'creation' of 500 extra jobs in Luton.
500 extra jobs are irrelevant to the situation in Luton, where the knock-on effect of the closure of the assembly plant will create 6,000 job loses in the area.
But it turns out that these 500 jobs have been 'created' by switching the new 4x4 Frontera, which was scheduled for Ellesmere Port, and agreed with the unions, to the IBC van plant in Luton. This has two effects. It allows management to offer a few alternative jobs in Luton, but it makes Ellesmere Port plant a single model plant, and puts its future directly in jeopardy. Management hopes that this will create further division, with some of the workers hoping to get these jobs.
Despite the lack of action before the shutdown, it is clear that the convenors and stewards in Vauxhall have responded much more strongly, and have immediately taken a better attitude, than that taken at either Rover or Ford.
One important strength is in seeing the need for a combine-wide action. In Dagenham the vote for action was lost not only by the long delay, and the effects of time, but the fact that the call for strike action was confined to Dagenham rather than seen as a crisis of Ford UK - which was the reality.
There was little prospect that the closure could have been successfully opposed in Dagenham alone.
In Vauxhall, at least for now, it is a very different situation. The European Works Council has called a one-day strike of GM plants throughout Europe, on the 25th of January.
In a leaflet to the membership the stewards say "This is a European problem", and they would "seek to create a European fight with General Motors of Europe". They called on the workers to "Reject the package and defend our jobs and our plant". They have also called for them to defend it "by whatever means".
To back this up, a meeting of convenors from of the GM plants in the UK, meeting on January 5th, have called for a national demonstration in Luton on January 20. This is an important decision, and a big step forward from the Ford situation, where in the six months between the announcement of the Dagenham closure and the workers finally voting, there was only one public action - a lobby of Ford UK HQ.
There needs to be a massive mobilisation for the January 20 demonstration from all over the country. This should start as soon as the Luton plant reopens, with a mass meeting to plan the mobilisation.
This is a fight for the whole working class. If this plant goes, so will component firms and even more jobs. One defeat leads to another.
It is no coincidence that a week after the Rover unions accepted the Phoenix deal, and the loss of thousands of jobs, Ford announced the closure of car production at Dagenham.
Nor is it a coincidence that one week after the vote at Dagenham to accept the closure of the plant, GM announced the closure of Luton.
It is not just that it is easier under British legislation to close British plants: it's because the union leaderships in this country have sabotaged any fight back at every stage.
This must be stopped. Other employers like Nissan/Renault, Corus Steel ;and Peugeot are waiting in the wings, looking to axe more jobs, not to mention Rover and many component firms.
In motors most companies are moving models into super plants, so that if one model doesn't sell they can concentrate the workers on other models. A single model plant does not give them this flexibility.
This is why Toyota has bucked the trend and increased its UK investment - although with very small increase in the work force (10%) and a 20% increase in production. It is an attempt to fully utilise their present facilities and give them the flexibility they need.
The stewards at Luton said in their statement to the work force: "This is our plant. General Motors of Europe have given up their right to call it theirs."
This is a profound statement, and in contradiction to the local Luton Labour MP, who said that GM had the right to take such decisions - but that they should keep the work force informed!
It is also in contradiction to Stephen Byers, who knew about the closure in advance and withheld it from the unions, and then said only that he would try to help the workers get other jobs.
If GM cannot guarantee these jobs then Vauxhall should be nationalised - as should Fords and Rover: and if there is not the requirement for cars, then the plant should be re-tooled for useful alternative production, such as ambulances or public transport. This could, with a renationalised railway, and bus system, create a proper public transport system.
Support the Luton workers.
All out on January 20th, and 25th.
Demo details
Join the Rally and March!
Defend Manufacturing and support the
Vauxhall workers
20 January
Assemble Vauxhall, Kimpton Road, Luton 10am for 12 noon start
For more info contact
AEEU 020 8596 9798
T&G 01582 726 122
MSF 01279 755 377
Email [email protected]
25 January - International Day of Action
call the above unions or email [email protected] for more info
Unions must end concession bargaining!
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One thing that the decision of General Motors to close its Luton plant has made clear, yet again, is that "concession bargaining" (making concessions on working conditions in exchange for so-called "guarantees" on jobs) is a big mistake, reports JACK JOHNSON.
The employers get all the benefit of the worsening of working conditions - and often still close the plant just the same. The guarantee is not worth the paper it is written on. And each union retreat just encourages the employers to come back for even more.
The 1998 Vauxhall wage deal gave a small wage increase in exchange for a range of concessions - including the banking of hours in Luton.
This was in exchange for a written guarantee that the Vectra replacement would be made at Luton. This guarantee was confirmed again as recently as three months ago.
The workforce only heard that this agreement had been torn up and the plant was to be closed on the local radio - such was management's attitude to their side of the agreement.
BMW unions gave away major concessions in their attempt to save Longbridge. This involved the acceptance of the banking of hours and two years of virtually of no wage increase, in return for a 35 hour week. This deal was implemented straight away, but was so vague that it took a long time to sign.
By the time it was signed, the company was already negotiating with Alchemy to sell Longbridge. But banking hours have remained in place in all three of the broken up components of what was Rover.
Still trying to "save the plant", the Longbridge unions negotiated a return to the 37 hour week, a loss of £32 a week on one regularly used shift system, a cut in relief time, and a cut in sick pay back to 75%.
When this went to the workforce it was dressed up as a £20 wage increase, but only just scraped the vote by about 150 out of 4000.
Phoenix this month are issuing 30% of the shares to the work force. These are almost worthless, since the company doesn't even own the engine plant on site, and if it ever goes into profit, it has to start paying back the £500 million loan from BMW.
In Swindon, BMW, threatening to sell the plant, persuaded unions to accept a 36 hour week: but is selling the plant anyway.
In Cowley the union leadership has recently recommended a deal that is the worst of the lot. The return of the 37 hour week, the continuation of banking hours, but including unlimited payback of hours on Saturdays. Also conceded are the use of agency workers, at agency rates, new starters on 20% less pay, and monthly pay.
There are also other elements in relation to grading, and, particularly dangerous, an element of performance related pay which will divide workers.
Another money -saving element is a reduction in shift premium payments in the future. The actual increase in a 2 year deal is just 7%, with other lump sums.
Considering that the new Mini is about to go in to production in Cowley, to make concessions this big now is diabolical. Nor will it guarantee the future.
All these deals are designed to increase productivity, and the more efficient working of the plant. The Cowley deal for example includes the "Peugeot"-style Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shift.
This increases the capacity of the plants - but one person's concession is another person's job loss.
There has to be a united fight back, and a strategy