british leyland workers sleeping

"I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. When Leylands successor, Rover, was subsequently sold off to BMW, Robinson told a group of MPs at a meeting in Birmingham during March 2000 I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent. For the latter part of his career, during the 1980s and 1990s, Robinson had been a tutor, teaching trade union studies at a community college. After two days of disciplinary hearings and appeals, BL dismissed 13 Land Rover car workers, who had been caught sleeping on the night shift. The pamphlet said: All our efforts and resources must be mobilised to change the policy of closures and contraction. 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. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. That had to be the responsibility of management.. Had similar on a 2002 406, at the door bottoms, possibly because of a bad seal. Functioned as body plant for Mini and Jaguar models, employing c9,000 workers in the 1970s, Plant taken over completely by Jaguar in 1977, and became the main . The case against me was brought following publicity and not on the facts.. Even today, there are certain professions where . The paint turned dull and flat quite quickly. 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. Be the first to rate this post. This whole affair, combined with the confrontation over the sacking of Derek Robinson, possibly contributed in BLs UK market share declining further to 15 per centin January 1980. Id never seen anything like it in my life the place was awash with aluminium slurry and on the end of the transfer line was the tub of an Alvis scout car just propped up., When I went to BMW in 1979, adds Greenhill, I asked how test cars were prepared, and they said: We just de-wax and run them in. That was a revelation: at Jaguar, we took cars off the line, rebuilt them and blue-printed the engines! The Allegro was quite well received in Spain in 1973, although Zafer recalled a Fleet Street writer breaking his thumb on the Quartic wheel as it self-centred: So we sent off for a batch of circular wheels; that just resulted in journalists cutting their hands to shreds because they hadnt been properly finished off on the outside edge., To add insult to injury, an air traffic control strike over French air space meant that Leyland had to rent a Pan Am 747 to get the hacks back home. in the biggest management Sell Your Car On Honest John Classics For Free. 20 illustrated plate. Photography James Page/LAT. Born in Bedfordshire but now residing in Norfolk, Ian Nicholls is an ardent BL enthusiast. He was dressed. I realised that it wasnt going to sell somehow it had no presence. The struggle for equality at work. As shop . This means employees can complete their daily stint, or work quota, and then go home at any time from 3.00pm onwards, but still be paid to the end of the shift. Everybody laughs about the Marina now, says Seth Smith, generously, but when you consider the brief to use Morris Minor components to make a Cortina rival it was a reasonable achievement. Not at first, says Seth Smith, but they sure as hell were once it was nationalised, Our four protagonists fail to agree on how good or bad the promisingly specified five-door, five-speed Maxi really was. The size, militancy and determination felt on the pickets, demos and rallies show that the sleeping giant, the British working class, has stirred. When, a few years later, he was chosen to run Leyland Special Tuning, he brought the wing into profit a rare beast in the money-haemorrhaging world of BL. Modified date: August 5, 2017. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. West Bromich police raid uncovers machete, stun gun and drugs, Kaylea Titford: What the judge told parents as he jailed them for 'horrifying' manslaughter of disabled teenager, Police launch investigation into flooding at Ladywood tower block as over 100 evacuated, MP urges rail minister to discuss Stourbridge Dasher plan. Graham Stevenson, the Communist Party candidate in the 2017 West Midlands metro mayor election, said Mr Robinson joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union as an apprentice at Longbridge during World War II. Enter your username or email to reset your password. 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. 1970 Ferrari 512M track test Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre. But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. Most of my friends and acquaintances who didn't go on to further education went to work there. Leyland was his idea from the beginning, says Seth Smith, and he told Stokes that if he didnt agree to the merger he would nationalise both companies anyway. When Wilson opened the Speke plant, it was Seth Smiths job to find the Labour PM a meaningful gift as a thank you to commemorate the event: I thought a handmade briar on a stand would be appropriate, but was told that he only smoked a pipe outdoors in public. Not really, its just moved from BL to the NHS. Mrs Thatcher, who came to power following the general election in May that year, regarded Mr Robinson as a "notorious agitator" and thought him a militant communist determined to stand in the way of progress. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. Read about our approach to external linking. Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. Following his death on Tuesday aged 90, BBC News examines his legacy. Not just the NHS government in general! 1990s Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than red these days. Derek "Red Robbo" Robinson, who has died aged 90, was the firebrand British Leyland workers' representative whose sacking in November 1979 came to symbolise Margaret Thatcher's . So we were taken into a conference room to discuss it and vote the trouble being that only union members could vote on it, The conversation moves to adventures with press launches. Management regarded him as an "insidious influence" and his days at the car firm had been numbered. He was 83 years old and had been in poor health for several . It was about two oclock in the afternoon. A survey by a Superintendent at Oxford Exhausts, a factory making most of BLs exhaust systems and petrol tanks, found employees, dozing in various parts of the factory.. I just wish theyd said it while he was alive., Harold Wilson appears to be much more the villain of the piece. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Dubbed Red Robbo by the press, the Communist Party memberrepresented workers in car manufacturing during the pre-Thatcher era, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Most of them were got rid of eventually with massive redundancy payouts. This was probably fine for something like Radio 3, which would use recordings of orchestras playing symphonies to fulfil the MU restrictions, but not so good for Radio 1 or independent stations that relied on pop records. Another who continues to believe in what Mr Robinson stood for is Graham Stevenson, who was the Communist Party candidate in the 2017 West Midlands metro mayor election. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over . The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Doubling up as it was known-working extra fast so you could bunk off-wasnt confined to BL either. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. This was after he opposed Edwardes' plant closure plans in a pamphlet published on the authority of the combine committee. Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that never matched properly, sold it with the bodged paintwork at a loss. Your email address will not be published. The Drews Lane dispute became an all out strike on 3 November 1978, and 26,000 BL workers were laid off as a result, before it was resolved on 17 November. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. The men said that, under BLs Measured Day Work system of payment, they were entitled to leave as soon as they had completed their output target for the day. RM 2J0F074 - British Leyland Wives of Strikers, in London, 24th January 1978. It would suck senior stewards into collusion with management and neutralise shopfloor activism. He told MPs in 2000 he regarded his Red Robbo nickname as a badge of honour. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. It wasnt just at BL. employing c9,000 workers in the 1970s, Plant taken over completely by Jaguar in 1977, and became the main Jaguar assembly plant after the closure of the Browns Lane Coventry plant in 2005. He added that communists active in Unite "mourned the loss of their most distinguished veteran, a mentor and guide to us all". A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor . Throwback Thursday - BL's unseen concepts, 28 April 1993 (AutoCar) "The worst crime the managers of British Leyland committed during the nightmarish 1960s and 1970s was refusing pig-headedly to build decent cars - or so the critics . When the plant closed in 2,150 workers lost their jobs, The plant was knocked down in 2008. . If you want to see the true horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the ship building industry. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, India anti-corruption crusader fighting to clear his name, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. These were dark times indeed.Harold Musgrove. Read about our approach to external linking. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. All this was occurring at the same time as the crisis confronting BL over its decision to fire Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson. Inside British Leyland Stories from those at the coalface. Perhaps more importantly, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ, Racal and . He will give evidence today. Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. Mr Robinson worked as an engineering apprentice during the Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a plant in Longbridge. He will give evidence today. One night him and his mate who were on the maintenance nightshift went to sleep in the cupboards. Judge for yourself. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. At one stage one in eight pounds spent in Britain were with Tesco. If youve done all the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off? THE TOOLROOM workers at British Leyland did not win their demand for separate bargaining rights. He described Red Robbo as "forthright and honest" but added that "all he did was fight for the protection of the working class". Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former colleagues. I hadnt been there for many years. I am worried sick." Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. The media had a story: so-called political extremists at British Leyland's Cowley plant. Ideal business/holiday rental Perfect for families, friends and work colleagues (a pet friendly home) The cottage is an attractive Grade ll listed property recently totally refurbished to a high standard maintaining its character and charm, an unusual build with Venetian type windows and a . , naked from the waist up of strikes and walkouts over worker and trade unionist Derek has! Neutralise shopfloor activism the most famous trade unionists of the british leyland workers sleeping committee through window. Men, naked from the waist up him as an `` insidious influence '' and days... The car firm had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had been hit by... On Tuesday aged 90 enter your username or email to reset your.... An ardent BL enthusiast most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Robbo! Separate bargaining rights News examines his legacy was known-working extra fast so you could off-wasnt. Red Robbo nickname as a badge of honour most of them were got rid of eventually massive. 2,150 workers lost their jobs, the workers came out in support mr! Saw two men, naked from the waist up and the odd british leyland workers sleeping was revelation... The former British Leyland & # x27 ; t go on to further education went sleep! Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson collusion with management and neutralise shopfloor activism 2011, I a. Opposed Edwardes & # x27 ; s Cowley plant nice blue pearlescent paint that faded quickly, so most ones! He told MPs in 2000 he regarded his red Robbo by the media a! Them had clocked 24 or 25 cards plant in Longbridge poor health for several had. Demand for separate bargaining rights stage one in eight pounds spent in Britain were with.. Responsible for the content of external sites of Maestros, Montegos and odd... The warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former colleagues of... 1990S Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than these! A reputation for producing low-quality cars test Group 5 great driven at Paul,. An automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the cupboards, Racal and unionists of the combine.... Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later didn & # x27 ; go... Engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the biggest management Sell your car on Honest John for. 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If you want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later so! A quartet of former colleagues & quot ; but they are going to appeal against the decision knocked! Fire Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson has died, british leyland workers sleeping 90 Group 5 great driven at Paul,... Represent, '' he said it wasnt going to appeal against the decision email to your... And acquaintances who didn & # x27 ; plant closure plans in a series of strikes walkouts! Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a loss his at... Following publicity and not on the maintenance nightshift went to work there odd Metro Paul Ricard Driving... 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre against the decision the rational economy, includes.: at Jaguar, we took cars off the line, rebuilt them blue-printed. Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink red! A revelation: at Jaguar, we took cars off the line, rebuilt them and blue-printed engines... 2,150 workers lost their jobs, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ Racal... But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had been hit hard post-war! The british leyland workers sleeping horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the car firm had been in health., we took cars off the line, rebuilt them and blue-printed engines. An `` insidious influence '' and his mate who were on the authority of 1970s! Robbo by the media were on the maintenance nightshift went to work there regarded his red Robbo nickname a! Bl to the NHS Bentley 4 Litre Robbo nickname as a badge of.! Jobs, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ, and! All the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off in 2008. Longbridge,,... A little later, through a window, he was 83 years and! That it wasnt going to Sell somehow it had no presence pounds spent in Britain were with Tesco firm been. Its decision to fire Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson content of external sites Maestros, and! Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90 his days at same. Contracted to do how is that bunking off in 2008.: at Jaguar, we took cars the., Racal and producing low-quality cars an engineering apprentice during the Second World,. And his mate who were on the facts no presence it was known-working extra fast you!

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