BL refused to comment, other than to confirm that an unnamed Superintendent had been dismissed and an immediate appeal hearing had upheld that decision. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. "His legacy ought to be that you've got to fight," said Mr Loach. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Over 50,000 workers across British Leyland immediately came out on strike, including the 20,000 workers at Longbridge in . The company assumed its current name in 1982. Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. He left school aged 14 to begin work at the Austin plant at Longbridge, initially as an apprentice toolmaker. The ultimate result we see today zero hours contracts, the use of self employment status to avoid paying NI and there general degradation of workers since 1979. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that never matched properly, sold it with the bodged paintwork at a loss. It wasnt just at BL. The Lancia was supposed to be the Italian version of BMW, and I do recall the Beta being a desirable car to own in the late seventies. The pamphlet said: All our efforts and resources must be mobilised to change the policy of closures and contraction. Ultimately it would become nationalised as British Leyland, often referred to as just BL.In 1986 it was renamed to Rover Group.. History. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. Duration: 0:05:15. . Another quasi nationalised organisation which had working practices that would look hilarious now was the BBC at that time. Modified date: August 5, 2017. Furthermore most of their fathers, uncles, etc. He was sitting opposite Mr Robinson when the union convenor was finally dismissed. He also stood as a Communist Party candidate in four general elections in the city between 1966 and 1974. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. Christopher Lunt worked at Longbridge until MG Rover - the successor company to British Leyland - went into administration in 2005. Answer (1 of 28): I grew up very close to the town of Leyland and Leyland Motors (as it was then called) was by far the biggest employer in the area. It certainly became the great nationalised whipping boy of the 1970s, and by the end of the decade its image was on the floor. Seven years ago Tony Cliff wrote, 'The aim of the . In 1975, shortly after British Leyland's nationalisation, 'workers' participation' became union policy. Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? Judge for yourself. Between 1977 and 1978, about 18,000 jobs were cut by the firm, leaving it still employing 20,000 people in Longbridge and a further 30,000 at plants elsewhere. Leylands future was assured over the next two decades through reluctant government financial support, the new Mini Metro model and a joint venture with Honda. Around here (Nottingham) Royal Mail used a wide range of Vauxhall vans, and a few years ago every one of them had changed from Post Office red into a faded pink. DAILY MIRRORLeyland Dozers SackedBy Chris Hampson, Fourteen night shift men caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant have been sacked , a wife claimed last night. He described Red Robbo as "forthright and honest" but added that "all he did was fight for the protection of the working class". Robinson was born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. One of the most notorious trade unionists in recent memory has died aged 90. A communist, he had led 523 walkouts at the Birmingham car plant during a 30-month period, gaining the nickname Red Robbo from journalists and becoming an increasingly divisive national figure. Elon Musk sacks 200 MORE Twitter staff - including top lieutenant who boasted about sleeping in her office to commit to billionaire's new 'hardcore' work culture - before posting cryptic tweet "He may well have had absolute belief in what he was doing, but few others did," Mr Cox added. Leyland Dozers Sacked. The Government should also be enthusiastic. 13 November 1979. He joined the Communist Party in the early Fifties and stood as a candidate for the party four times at elections between 1966 and 1974. I couldnt say, says Seth Smith, but there was a lot of leftwing ideology about, and he was a smart and quite powerful individual, a natural leader., Talking of leaders, history has not been kind to Lord Stokes, but all here recall him as a capable boss who had simply been handed one of the most thankless tasks imaginable. Six hundred workers had been laid off indefinitely because of a shortage of suspension units caused by a work to rule by 150 workers at the transmission plant at Drews Lane. Similar incidents had occurred before and appropriate action had been taken. Mr Alan Walters, a supervisor, said he had seen another man come from the office carrying a Land-Rover seat capable of being used as a bed. The men were found tucked up in sleeping bags when management swooped on the priming shop at the Range Rover plant in Solihull, near Birmingham. In the morning when they woke up they had large banging on the door it was the police. When we walked the shop floor, I think 90 per cent of the employees had actually gone home. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. British Leyland like Tesco considered itself invincible and arrogant managers like Donald Stokes couldnt see that the market was losing patience with the companys products and cheaper and better imported cars, and Ford, were eating into their market share. The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. It was incredibly the first new model to come out of Longbridge for seven years, but also notable for the utilisation of modern robot technology to produce it. The size, militancy and determination felt on the pickets, demos and rallies show that the sleeping giant, the British working class, has stirred. First edition. Pay and Contract. The cars : Vauxhall Viva development story, Blog : Rover SD1 the Australian perspective, Yes we read all these stories from the News Of The World (the original fake news site) some were true,some were not. He had joined the Communist Party in 1951 and by the 1970s had become the main spokesman for more than 40 plants operated by British Leyland. But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. Statement from a Lucas representative who confirms the Lucas toolroom . Workers pose on the production line for the new Austin Maxi 1500 five-door hatchback, at the British Leyland car plant at Cowley, Oxford, 23rd April. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The company refused to comment while a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent. Not to mention any management off home by 3pm.Hardly surprising they send teenagers with bowel cancer hone with a suggestion that laxatives might do the trick.. Derek Robinson, who has died aged 90, was the union convenor who fought tirelessly for the rights of car factory workers during the Seventies. W[/dropcap]e tend to think of British Leyland as a sprawling, unwieldy and inefficient industrial giant shambling its way from crisis to crisis, a universal joke lampooned by everyone from Fleet Street to The Two Ronnies. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. He was the main spokesman for the British Leyland combine committee which united about 40 different plants around the country, for most of the 1970s. Mr Robinson was elected shop steward soon after the end of his apprenticeship and by the late 1940s was a member of the Communist Party "in which he remained for the rest of his life", Mr Stevenson said. The Daily Mail claimed that the car firm British Leyland was paying bribes, and was exposed for printing a ludicrous hoax. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. The struggle for equality at work. Mr Robert Yates, British Leyland foreman, was dismissed for allowing men to sleep on the night shift at the Rover works in Solihull, West Midlands, an industrial tribunal was told yesterday. History will show that Derek was unfairly maligned by the media as he aimed to find solutions to British Leyland's industrial disputes and turn around the car company." Derek Robinson, trade . If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? THE GUARDIAN LEYLAND BRINGS IN BELGIAN BUILT MINIS Bri tish Leyland is to bring in several thousand Minis from its Belgian plant in DAILY EXPRESS LEYLAND REBELS IN NO CUTS STAND By Declan Cunningham Leyland shop stewards launched a last ditch campaign yesterday 90,000 BL workers to get copies of 'ultimatum' By Clifford Webb British Leyland's Nuffield Press subsidiary yesterday began rushing WHERE A LACK OF INCENTIVES IS A BARRIER TO PRODUCTIVITY By Nick Boulter, Longbridge November 1977 to March 1979, the last year as TGWU BL dealer network near collapse after defections to European car groups By Clifford Webb Sir Michael Edwardes, BL's chairman, is fighting Sleeping men's supervisor is dismissed By Clifford Webb Midlands Industrial Correspondent BL yesterday completed disciplinary hearings More BL men found asleep on night shift From Our Correspondent Oxford Three days after 13 workers were dismissed after being found American dealers call for decision on MG By David Felton Worried American car dealers who hold BL franchises are pressing the British British Leyland vesterday dismissed Mr Derek Robinson. My favourite was from an old work colleague working for an engineering firm in Glasgow back in the 80s. He will give evidence today. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Created www.austin-rover.co.uk in 2001 and built it up to become the world's foremost reference source for all things BMC, Leyland and Rover Group, before renaming it AROnline in 2007. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. Continue with Recommended Cookies. And resources must be mobilised to change the policy of closures and contraction worked Longbridge! Candidate in four general elections in the city between 1966 and 1974 near Birmingham, in,. 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