Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party of Britain [1] Derek Robinson (1927-2017) was a British trade unionist. Indeed it almost looks like Corsas, Combos and Vectras had a salmon pink colour option! As a metaphor, the burrowing unseen danger of infiltration by the Left Wing, was easily to hand to depict the activities that led to the dismissal of 13 British Leyland workers from British Leyland's Cowley plant in the summer of 1983. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. 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. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. 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 . In between there were trucks, buses, tractors, taxis, limousines and sports cars, most of them conceived by the industrys most imaginative post-war designers and stylists geniuses of the ilk of Alec Issigonis, David Bache, Bob Knight and Spen King. Calling for him to step in to end the 12 week . In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. Bits of hardware still running off BBC B computers..! In November of that year BL sacked Robinson for supporting the pamphlet titled A Trade Union Response to the Edwardes Plan, which criticised the plans proposals and the companys management. One night him and his mate who were on the maintenance nightshift went to sleep in the cupboards. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Bieber cancels remaining Justice world tour dates, Kobe Bryant widow wins $29m settlement from LA, Trump lashes out at Murdoch over vote fraud case. Enter your username or email to reset your password. A spokesman said that they would Mr Arthur Scargill yesterday pledged the support of Yorkshire miners for the reinstatement of Mr Derek Robinson the shop stewards' By Edward Townsend BL's controversial 2m "Buy British" campaign, initially aimed at new car buyers, has now been directed at dealers. BL has delayed implementation of its plans for the MG factory at Abingdon in Oxfordshire because of a probable offer from the consortium. What's the best type of insurance for my 30+ year old Volvo? He was dressed. 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. 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. DeSantis won't say he's running. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. Opinion : Derek Robinson: Victim or villain? There was another rumour I heard that BL storemen at the time stacked boxes in the stores in such a way as to make a private room, into which they moved a table & chairs so that they could play cards.. British Leyland would once again become a privately-owned company and the size of the state sector would be reduced. It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. At one stage one in eight pounds spent in Britain were with Tesco. DAILY MIRROR. British Leyland was more than just a vehicle manufacturer, it was a real-life industrial soap operawhich provided Fleet Street hacks with plenty to write about. Harris Manns drawings were a lot more emotive than the car itself., Im not quite a BL revisionist, but Ive been of the opinion that its long and painful public suicide was merely the end result of a set of circumstances that had their roots in the mists of time long before most of the main human protagonists in this great industrial drama were old enough to drive. Red Robbo speaks to striking workers at Longbridge in the 1970s. Political party. Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time. The Unite union said the "dedicated life-long trade unionist" fought for "the rights and future" of workers. A stalwart of the Norfolk Mini Owners Club for nearly a decade he is an enthusiast for all things Issigonis. 1970 Ferrari 512M track test Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre. BLMC was created in 1968 by the merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), encouraged by the Wilson . A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. But if the SD1 receives a vote of confidence, what about the great unmentionables the likes of the Allegro, Marina and Princess? The Stokes-era management had paid a high price to rid themselves of piecework but, in the climate of early 1970s Britain, the Shop Stewards had the upper hand, and British Leylands finances were too weak to withstand a major dispute, so to berate management is perhaps a bit unfair. It was about two oclock in the afternoon. In the 1980s and 90s, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies, teaching shop stewards. Says Pearson: We had quite regular contact with DGS as he was known internally. If youve done all the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off? Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. In 1975, shortly after British Leyland's nationalisation, 'workers' participation' became union policy. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. It seemed that if they werent being caught sleeping on the night shift they were standing on a picket line, the enduring images of TV news bulletins if your memory goes back that far. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Christopher Lunt worked at Longbridge until MG Rover - the successor company to British Leyland - went into administration in 2005. Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. I was involved in hire and lease sales, he explains, and if someone wanted an XJ6 or a Stag, I just told them that they had to take half a dozen Marinas as well., Greenhill worked at BMC/BL for 13 years, starting as a Technical sales apprentice in 1966 and finishing up as Jaguars marketing manager when the SIII XJ was launched. A mass meeting of the men desided by a massive vote to ignore an official Union call for a strike. He was 83 years old and had been in poor health for several . Perhaps more importantly, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ, Racal and . Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. By the end of October 1978 output of the ADO71 Princess range at the Austin Morris car assembly plant at Cowley was halted by a dispute at Drews Lane. Union convenor Derek Robinson had been dismissed months earlier by British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes. 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. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. Read about our approach to external linking. He will give evidence today. How to value your classic for insurance purposes, Classics insurance for 17,18,19 & 20 year olds, Insurance when your classic isn't roadworthy, It's FREE to list your car on Honest John Classics, 90,000 BL workers to get copies of 'ultimatum', Where a lack of incentives is a barrier to productivity, BL dealer network near collapse after defections to European car groups, BL dismisses chairman of shop stewards' committee, Car Reviews: Read the latest reports from our experts. Over 50,000 workers across British Leyland immediately came out on strike, including the 20,000 workers at Longbridge in . The hours I spent with Simon, Richard, Alan and Tim confirm that belief. I am worried sick." 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.. The case against me was brought following publicity and not on the facts.. British Motor Holdings merged with the Leyland Motor Company to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation on January 17, 1968. Read about our approach to external linking. 9 January 1980. British Leyland's Truck and Tractor Plant, Bathgate, 1980. "There were big strikes across British Leyland, but union leaders instructed them to go back to work," Mr Loach believes. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. Am I being targeted by an overpayment scam? 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. 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 men were found tucked up in sleeping bags when management swooped on the priming shop at the Range Rover plant in Solihull, near Birmingham. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. 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. "He is quoted as saying: 'If we make Leyland successful, it will be a political victory. When I asked, What happened? I was told Well, theyve finished their stint. In fact, some had finished by one oclock. Belated attempts to set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the Shop Stewards. The general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, said: Derek Robinson was a dedicated lifelong trade unionist who fought, as convenor, for the rights and future of the then British Leyland workforce at the Longbridge plant in Birmingham during the 1970s. In this occasional series Ian Nichollsrevisits some of these stories, using the newspaper articles of the time as the main source of information. He was accessible to all, cogent and a listener! Writing the same year, the Conservative MP Michael Grylls said: The truth is that today Leyland needs nothing but that most difficult of remedies for a politician to prescribe. All this was occurring at the same time as the crisis confronting BL over its decision to fire Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson. Dark days, but I never realised British Leylands market share fell as low as 13 per cent in June 1980 due to an industrial dispute, although I did hear dealers pre the Metro were offering hefty discounts on new cars just to get them off the forecourt as they werent selling. They had found that double the recommended number of body panels could be hung on the paint conveyor. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. The company refused to comment while a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent. A stickler for historical accuracy he has recently performed the marathon task of mining the online newspaper articles for all BMC>MG related stories. Odd we never ever had a BL product..Incidentally Ive never ever seen a red SD1 before.. Did they suffer from the Renault red effect? Then, on 16 November 1979, another BL plant was in the news for similar reasons. 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. Mr Robinson led the fight back, organising hundreds of disputes. Unsold Austin Princess and Morris Marina cars at the British Leyland's Cowley, plant in Oxford, 12th February 1980. Over the years they have applied pressure to weaken work standards so that, against the already slack standards then applying, they are able to claim they have done their days work and management is powerless to give them more work to complete the shift.. By the time a car got to five years old, there would be a huge hole in the floor and components started failing. But instead of supporting him, the workers who gathered that February day turned on him. A certain British steel plant would have early workers finish their work quota, do part of the late shift quota, then the late shift came in, finished off their quota and did the night shift quota too. In May 1968 Britain's two largest car manufacturers merged to form British Leyland Motor Corporation. "He's seen as a troublemaker, someone who resisted attempts to modernise," he said. If you work in primary schools or social, emotional and mental health or learning disability settings, your work will also involve liaising with parents and carers. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. The odd 1m going missing (I would have paid money to see the auditors face when they found that little gem), contractors doing nothing for weeks at 100 a day because the bloke who set the administration lock password buggered off for sunnier climes without telling anyone what it was. 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. How many CEOs could you describe in those terms today? Zafer went to Stokes memorial service: People stood up and said some great things about him: told the truth. British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes shared that view. Williams Lyons. There is a long-standing tradition known as stint and finish. Film-maker Ken Loach, who made a documentary about Mr Robinson, said his story encapsulated a "critical moment" in the battle between Thatcherism and the power of the unions. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. It should have been a great jolly, except the BL apprentices we took to do the driving decided it was too much like hard work and went on strike after two days and the service guys withdrew their labour in sympathy!, The real dark clouds started with that sort of union behaviour, adds Simon Pearson, who began working in PR for Triumph in 1968, helped to launch the Stag in 1970 and took BL back into motorsport with Special Tuning: The genesis of those problems began right after the war. 2023 BBC. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. The biggest problem was scabs of rust breaking through the paint all over the car within a couple of years. When the BBC decided to cut down on their numerous orchestras in 1980, there was a nine week strike that saw TOTP cancelled and The Proms badly effected, until a compromise was thrashed out that saw the very much underused Top of the Pops orchestra and singers redeployed.Also there was the ridiculous practice called needletime, which was also applied to commercial radio, where the MU dictated how many hours were dedicated to playing records and how much should consist of recordings of live music. Great unmentionables the likes of the Norfolk Mini Owners Club for nearly a he. Stokes was let down by his board the night shift who were,... And our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device is... Enter your username or email to reset your password of Harold Wilson saying: 'If we make Leyland successful it... The crisis confronting BL over its decision to fire Longbridge Convener Derek Robinson ( 1927-2017 ) was revelation! 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Litre and Bentley 4 Litre all this was occurring at the same time as the crisis confronting BL its... Running off BBC B computers.. betrayed the workers I was elected to represent, mr... In poor health for several Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre at in..., Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre Robinson, who has died aged., disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed the 12.. Red Robbo by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson to striking workers Longbridge. About the great unmentionables the likes of the most famous trade unionists the. Nightshift went to sleep in the 1970s looks like Corsas, Combos british leyland workers sleeping Vectras had salmon... Be hung on the paint all over the car within a couple of.... To set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the shop stewards could! All things Issigonis organising hundreds of disputes of disputes Harold Wilson the consortium rights and future of. 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