The pamphlet said: All our efforts and resources must be mobilised to change the policy of closures and contraction. The men at Drews Lane had worked to rule for several weeks in protest at management attempts to stop them leaving early. We all worked like hell to make it work Inside British Leyland. 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. In 1981 BL entered into a joint venture with Honda Motor Company, Ltd., of Japan to produce Japanese-designed Triumph Acclaims in the United Kingdom. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former colleagues. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. I am worried sick." The SOLICITOR-GENERAL for SCOTLAND (Lord McCluskey) 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. 1970 Ferrari 512M track test Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre. If you want to see the true horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the ship building industry. In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. Musgrovemay well have beenreferring to the Drews Lane plant in Birmingham. A stickler for historical accuracy he has recently performed the marathon task of mining the online newspaper articles for all BMC>MG related stories. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. "He wasn't at all like what the media portrayed him as in the 1970s," he said. 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. Kearsley has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the cars, down to the colour names and options, combined with a strong urge to save these underdogs. 2023 BBC. Derek Robinson pictured leading several thousand trade unionists on a protest march after he was sacked in 1979, Mr Robinson with his partner Phyllis Davies, who was at one time a shop stewardess at Longbridge. 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. But why had Mr Robinson's fellow workers not supported him? Union convenor Derek Robinson had been dismissed months earlier by British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes. But instead of supporting him, the workers who gathered that February day turned on him. Modified date: August 5, 2017. The night shift came in and went to sleep. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. Stories from those at the coalface. It wasnt cheap steel.it was steel that was galvanised on one side only..the idea being that the galvanised side went towards the wet..if only you could guarantee that the steel blank had been put in the press the right way round.. My father and his work colleague both had red S reg 2600 Rovers from new. The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. "He's seen as a troublemaker, someone who resisted attempts to modernise," he said. "He was a very competent man in private life he was very kind and very caring.". He wrote in his 1983 book, Back from the Brink, that Mr Robinson had "kept Longbridge in ferment and upheaval" for years and "disruption and upheaval" were his "food and drink". Be the first to rate this post. 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. The company refused to comment while a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent. It happened, the tribunal at Birmingham heard, in June after a six-month investigation in alleged clock-card malpractices at the plant. 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. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. Mr John Shayler, plant protection manager, said that at dawn on, June 14 he had seen a day-shift worker come in to their factory and knock on the door of the foremens office. What's he waiting for? Learn how your comment data is processed. Rugeley man apprehended with crack and heroin in Staffordshire town, Human error to blame for deadly train crash, says Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. It needs to be left alone. Heal opens up on shock mid-season move. It was the only new car on the books when [British] Leyland was formed on 2 January 1968, says Seth Smith, and it was abysmal particularly the gearchange., There is, however, consensus that the Princess was a better car than it was given credit for, but Greenhills account of the Princess 2 launch in the late 1970s is a microcosm of the ingrained and intractable cultural problems they were up against: We took a set of cars to Nardo in Italy to do two years driving in two weeks to prove the new O-series engine. By 1975, it had been bailed out by the government, which now owned 95% of it. By Chris Hampson. The Government should also be enthusiastic. After a tip-off by the News of the World newspaper, senior managers the previous week carried out a surprise inspection of the night shift in a paint priming shop. Here, after all, was the worlds fourth-biggest car maker building the planets most complete and ambitious range of vehicles. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. An investigation disclosed that the 14 had devised a scheme that enabled them to complete their quota in half the allocated time. 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. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. If youve done all the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off? It will prove that ordinary working people have got the intelligence and determination to run industry'. Could he please have three large boxes of Cuban cigars instead?, Speke was, of course, the home of the TR7, launched in 1975 on the US market but not available in the UK until 1976. At one stage one in eight pounds spent in Britain were with Tesco. In his defence, Mr Yates claimed that British Leylands system of giving a measured quota of work for a shift resulted in his men never having enough work to do. 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. Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens' and upset at hospital parking price rise. Position: Children's Residential Support Worker. 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.. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. For Mr Stevenson, the dismissal of Red Robbo was "the first shot in the war that Thatcher began against working people and their families". Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. 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 men were found tucked up in sleeping bags when management swooped on the priming shop at the Range Rover plant in Solihull, near Birmingham. Fourteen night shift men caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant have been sacked , a wife claimed last night. 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 . He was a lovely guy, recalls Greenhill, when you werent in a meeting with him. Was he a communist infiltrator? But surely there is an alternative, more positive spin on this dark industrial history, or at least one that makes it a little easier to see the reasons for the failures. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it [] []. "He's to be hugely respected.". Williams Lyons. What fire was my friends answer to which the policeman pointed to the mess of the building next door and the thirty fire engines surrounding it! We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. She said: My husband rang to tell me that they have all lost their jobs.. He was 83 years old and had been in poor health for several . From the Shop Stewards point of view BL management had entered into an agreement with them to end piecework and, a few years later, they were trying to renege on the deal. That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. British Leyland's Truck and Tractor Plant, Bathgate, 1980. 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 . Robinson was born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop, from where they could see a clocking point. Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? Enter your username or email to reset your password. That was nationalised for a time as British Shipbuilders and while not as strike prone, tended to spin out contracts at huge cost to their customers and had unions who jealously guarded their job demarcations. Thatcher provided British Leyland with 2.9 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) of taxpayer money from 1979 to 1988, Rhys said. Do I have to update my blue V5 to a red V5C? Am I being targeted by an overpayment scam? Vilified by the media as "Red Robbo" he was also betrayed, in the eyes of his supporters, by trade union bosses. Lancashire's workers have increased the amount of hours they put in by 1.5% since . 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. Ian is unable to help with technical queries he pays other people to fix his cars! But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. Mr John Share, personnel manager, said the company was satisfied that Mr Yates had allowed men to sleep on a night shift and had allowed clocking offences in which he had taken part. 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. Furthermore most of their fathers, uncles, etc. Read about our approach to external linking. However, the wife of one of the dismissed workers, Mrs Ray Pennell, of Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham, said the management knew of the practice and had asked men to double-load the conveyors if production fell behind. On unveiling day, the company boasted, 100,000 Britons packed into showrooms to see the car and placed orders worth . 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. after annual holidays (see 5 July). 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. The British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968. 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. We may as well start with the most notorious of these stories and, perhaps, the one most people remember: the case of the employees sleeping on the night shift. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. 9 January 1980. . Ultimately it meant most of the industry disappeared as merchant shipbuilding went abroad and the few yards that survive now only do so because of defence contracts. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. The company assumed its current name in 1982. Officers discovered Lai was sleeping in a squalid property . See thats the part that confuses me. Seth Smith joined Leyland Motor Corporation as Triumph press officer in 1967, and in 1968 helped with the famous announcement of the Leyland and BMH merger. 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. 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. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. He added that communists active in Unite "mourned the loss of their most distinguished veteran, a mentor and guide to us all". The response was:Theyve been doing it for years., Wed been establishing targets, establishing line rates and achieving 60 per cent of the target, which meant that the track stopped for 40 per cent of the day. It was cosmetic rather than structural rust but terrible for the cars reputation. 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 . Derek Robinson - nicknamed "Red Robbo" by tabloid newspapers - was one of the biggest names in the trade union movement during the 1970s. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. 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. That had to be the responsibility of management.. But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. RME11T1N - Feb. 02, 1980 - Leyland workers Shun Robinson: The gamble by Sir Michael Edwardes, chairman of British Leyland to dismiss Mr. Derek Robinson, finally paid off yesterday when the workforce at Longbridge refused to take strike action to force the reinstatement of the converner. I pointed out that we paid them until 4.30pm. 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. Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. A combination of poor steel and corrosion, so Lancia werent entirely to blame. 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. Derek Robinson, nicknamed Red Robbo, died on 31 October 2017, A motion for strike action protesting against Mr Robinson's dismissal in 1980 was overwhelmingly voted down, British Leyland, Mr Edwardes wrote, was perceived as being a business "at war with itself", Film-maker Ken Loach described Derek Robinson as a man of "iron principle", Strikes co-ordinated by Mr Robinson cost British Leyland 200m in lost production, according to chairman Michael Edwardes, The Winter of Discontent saw rubbish piled high, as seen here in London's Leicester Square, In 2000, Mr Robinson was among crowds in Birmingham campaigning to save jobs at MG Rover, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. A stalwart of the Norfolk Mini Owners Club for nearly a decade he is an enthusiast for all things Issigonis. Nicknamed Red Robbo in the press of the time, Robinson was involved in some 500 walkouts at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge, Birmingham, the result of frequent disagreements between the companys management and unions over working practices. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. But by this time British Leylands crisis had become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions. 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. He was accessible to all, cogent and a listener! Mr Share also said there was nothing wrong with workers having a snooze provided it was in a chair. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. The Allegro that went through three gearboxes was BLs fault, since theyd put the wrong one on originally and the drones just replaced the wrong box with another wrong box by the part number.. And reduced my dads colleague to tears.. For many, Mr Robinson is remembered "very badly", according to Chris Cowin, an expert on British Leyland's history. Born in Cradley Heath in the Black Country in 1927, Mr Robinson had begun working at the Longbridge plant aged 14 and was in his 50s when the axe fell. 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. No mention was made of any disciplinary action against the workers. Indeed it almost looks like Corsas, Combos and Vectras had a salmon pink colour option! Says Pearson: We had quite regular contact with DGS as he was known internally. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. An uncompromising and . Often this meant DJs talked too much to keep within the restrictions, which annoyed listeners, until finally in 1987 needletime was axed. in the biggest management Sell Your Car On Honest John Classics For Free. The problem with British Leyland was that they designed their cars to only last three years, so you would start getting rust spots and other problems. In Lancias case it almost killed them off over here, and even though the rustproofing was far better on later cars, very few people were willing to buy one. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . The British rail class 153 super sprinters are single car units converted in the 1990s from British Leyland built two-car class 155s. DAILY EXPRESS BUY BRITISH DRIVE FOR LEYLAND BOOST By David Benson An aggressive campaign to 'Buy British' is to be launched by Leyland British Leyland is to be granted a further 300m of state aid next year, with 133m to follow if the vehicle group's performance improves. DAILY EXPRESS BUY BRITISH By Peter Durisch Leyland chief Sir Michael Edwardes left Britain over Christmas with a special messagefor BL seals pact for Japanese to produce first car in Britain From our Correspondent Tokyo, Dec 27 BL and Honda today ratified an agreement Robert Taylor investigates recently released Cabinet papers that document the end of the 1974-79 Labour Government The newly-opened Mr Robert Yates, British Leyland foreman, last night lost a claim that he was. The struggle for equality at work. We had a LDV van at work for about 7 years. 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. 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