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. I will leave the last word to Pearson, the man who got this fascinating group together: We all worked like hell to make it work, for not much money. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Musicians Union, which was the union for musicians employed directly by the BBC, dictated that Top of the Pops had to employ a staff orchestra and singers, even if their services werent needed, which in most cases they were not. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over . Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? 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. But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. They discovered all the 14 men employed there, including a supervisor, asleep or dozing in sleeping bags, blankets and makeshift bunks. A further confrontation with the Transport and General Workers Union over BLs imposition of new working practices in April saw market share slump further to 13 per centin June 1980. The British rail class 153 super sprinters are single car units converted in the 1990s from British Leyland built two-car class 155s. The plant . Giving the Tribunals decision, Mr Smith said it should be made clear that Mr Yates dismissal predated others, which came after publicity given to workers found sleeping on a night shift. Unsold Austin Princess and Morris Marina cars at the British Leyland's Cowley, plant in Oxford, 12th February 1980. That had to be the responsibility of management.. ( Somehow an orchestra trying to perform a punk record would be comical). What's he waiting for? They made BL look like rank amateurs. Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. Derek Robinson - Red Robbo - speaks to striking British Leyland workers in Cofton Park. 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. 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 . 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, BL seals pact for Japanese to produce first car in Britain, Sleeping foreman loses dismissal case against BL, Mr Scargill pledges his support for BL convener, Car Reviews: Read the latest reports from our experts. 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. Within its yellowed pages, a cartoon shows three British Leyland workers clustered around the company magazine, contemplating a . Robinson was born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. Duration: 0:05:15. . Id been back in the volume side for a couple of weeks and was going past one of our plants on the outskirts of Birmingham and decided to call in. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. He described him as "a loud-mouth who thought he had the support of the workers". In the 1980s and 90s, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies, teaching shop stewards. Even today, there are certain professions where . It employed 200,000 people and was the fifth largest . Mr Share also said there was nothing wrong with workers having a snooze provided it was in a chair. 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. 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. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. Workers were to occupy and work in to prevent closures. 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. For Mr Stevenson, the dismissal of Red Robbo was "the first shot in the war that Thatcher began against working people and their families". Mr Lampett, who joined Rover 22 years earlier as a Tool Setter, said: I believe I have been treated very harshly. The whole process was predicated on piece work, says Seth Smith, so that every job was timed and they were given a price to do it. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. When we were given more money to buy, say, new transfer lines, says Seth Smith, we were restricted by government rules to buying sometimes inferior local tooling., Then there was the way that the cars were produced. The idea was that they should be able to make triple time: do each job in a third of the time allowed which meant that by half past two everyone would pack up and bugger off home!, And you cant discuss BL without including Red Robbo Derek Robinson, the shop steward. 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. Linda Fisher's interview. Over the years, my father's garage has become an elephant's graveyard of corroded metal, faded wiring diagrams, desiccated gaskets and other relics of a lifetime of Land Rover ownership. When questioned the men said they had completed their work quota. A spokesman said that they would consider taking action against anyone found dozing at work. Heal opens up on shock mid-season move. Buried deep somewhere in that automotive salmagundi: an old Punch magazine. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. The ADO15 MINI IS LAUNCHED TODAY Some extracts from the Times description of the new, NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY NEWS; Jaguar Is Planning To Cut Production AP Published: Thursday, February, Production of British Leylands new Morris Marina was at a standstill last night following a, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, The cars : Austin Maestro (LC10) development story, The cars : Land Rover Freelander (CB40) development story, Opinion : Austin Maestro a tale of unfulfilled promise, Opinion : Why unrest plagued the Maestros launch, The cars : Vauxhall Cavalier Mk3 development story, eBay Find of the Week : Rover 45 with less than 2k miles on the clock, Archive : Jaguar Is Planning To Cut Production, Archive : Strike by 80 halts Marina output. He was credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland between 1978 and 1979, costing an estimated 200 million in lost . 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. Mr Robinson worked as an engineering apprentice during the Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a plant in Longbridge. BL described this as potentially dangerous. (10 seconds outside of a garage in hot sun and the paint would fade and turn into something resembling 1000 grit sandpaper..?). The following day Robert Yates lost his appeal for unfair dismissal. British Leyland's Truck and Tractor Plant, Bathgate, 1980. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. 9 January 1980. Had similar on a 2002 406, at the door bottoms, possibly because of a bad seal. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. This has not happened easily and Black and Asian people have often had to fight for their rights. Beginning on 8 January 1980, the Foreman fired in November, now named as Mr Robert Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, began an unfair dismissal claim against Land Rover. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Union convenor Derek Robinson had been dismissed months earlier by British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes. By Chris Hampson. Email Print. unfairly dismissed for sleeping on a night shift and DAILY MIRROR Night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland bosses yesterday . 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. it was just part of a long running campaign by the mainly right wing press that had gone on since the end of WW2 against organized labour. Good condition, owner's inscription on flyleaf. Sounds very like British Leyland at the start of the seventies, four out of ten new cars were British Leyland and imports were still rare, if slowly gaining ground, and a few customers werent happy about the quality of the new Maxi. The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers at British Leyland 515 and their suppliers were laid off as a result of the toolmakers' strike and how many hours of work so lost by this strike will be included in the published statistics of manhours lost through industrial action. They had begun a policy of non-cooperation following the managements moves to stop workers leaving before the shift was completed. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. 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. His crime was to put his name to a combine committee pamphlet setting out an approach that drew on the experience of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Keith Adams Youll find that spending time reading Ian Nicholls excellent set of stories about, Clive Goldthorp THE real significance of Honda Motor Company Limited (Honda) President and CEO Takeo, THE GUARDIAN Production should be back to normal today at two Midlands car plants where, British Motor Holdings the joining of BMC and Jaguar. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. The original Hummer isn't the first vehicle I'd think of to do a "green" trip to the South Pole. The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. A plan by the unions to fight for a mass-volume car manufacturing was truncated when Robinson was sacked by British Leyland in November 1979. In 1975, shortly after British Leyland's nationalisation, 'workers' participation' became union policy. The long-standing custom and practice of allowing men to go home early once they had completed their quota of work was a thorny industrial relations issue. 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. If you want to see the true horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the ship building industry. 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. DAILY MIRROR. Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. Williams Lyons. But by this time British Leylands crisis had become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions. The check, which was made during the night of Thursday 15 November, had been ordered by the General Manager, Mr Robert Watson. 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. Year: 1977. Ray Horrocks (right), the head of BL Cars, told Chairman Michael Edwardes: We talk of regaining management control and applying proper discipline. 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. A combination of poor steel and corrosion, so Lancia werent entirely to blame. Undermining the shopfloor Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. 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. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. 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. 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. One night him and his mate who were on the maintenance nightshift went to sleep in the cupboards. But if the SD1 receives a vote of confidence, what about the great unmentionables the likes of the Allegro, Marina and Princess? Then, on 16 November 1979, another BL plant was in the news for similar reasons. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. 13 November 1979. No votes so far! Do I have to update my blue V5 to a red V5C? Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. I realised that it wasnt going to sell somehow it had no presence. Read about our approach to external linking. After two days of disciplinary hearings and appeals, BL dismissed 13 Land Rover car workers, who had been caught sleeping on the night shift. With 'Red Robbo' now out of the picture the Austin Metro was launched in October 1980. 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 foremen's office. But the political mood of the country was changing. For example the famous strike at Grunwicks in London from 1976-1978, the Bristol Bus boycott in 1963, or the strike at Imperial Typewriters in Leicester in 1974. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. BLMC was created in 1968 by the merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), encouraged by the Wilson . I can't think of anyone who . But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. 1990s Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than red these days. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. A shame really as improvements to the Maxi, Princess and Allegro had made these cars as good as many of their European rivals and certainly British Leyland never had to endure the sort of scandal that was engulfing Lancia at the time, where poor rustproofing was causing the engines to fall out of relatively new cars. It was at Longbridge that he joined the Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) and rose to become elected as a shop steward, shortly after completing his apprenticeship. 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". We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city? Leyland Dozers Sacked. But instead of supporting him, the workers who gathered that February day turned on him. 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. It needs the shock treatment of standing on its own two feet like any other business. 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. The incident would be reported to the management and judged on the circumstances. Furthermore most of their fathers, uncles, etc. We had a LDV van at work for about 7 years. 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. 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. Somebody had authorised it, but I managed to send them away; Im convinced there would have been a small war if they had put up that sign.. We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. 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. Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that never matched properly, sold it with the bodged paintwork at a loss. 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. 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. Belated attempts to set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the Shop Stewards. Ian is unable to help with technical queries he pays other people to fix his cars! A mass meeting of the men desided by a massive vote to ignore an official Union call for a strike. A stalwart of the Norfolk Mini Owners Club for nearly a decade he is an enthusiast for all things Issigonis. How did you not hear that he said to which my friend blatantly lied I had ear muffs on we were grinding most of the night! 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. People were not being properly paid and rewarded so they got together and formed their own alliance. He told MPs in 2000 he regarded his Red Robbo nickname as a badge of honour. At the time the industrial giant was believed to be the sixth largest car manufacturer in the world, with 11 marques - Austin, Austin-Healey, Daimler, Jaguar, MG, Morris, Riley, Rover, Triumph, Vanden Plas and Wolseley - and factories across the globe. British Leyland trade union leader. Whether or not unions in the UK took industrial action more than unions in Europe and North America is a moot point, much of the rubbish produced by the NoW, Daily Mail etc is treated as if it was historical fact nowdays where it should be regarded as propaganda. 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. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it []. Robinson was not reinstated. 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. Only British Rail and its curly-edged sandwiches ranked lower in the publics estimation. As for his Red Robbo nickname, Mr Robinson told MPs in 2000 he regarded it as a badge of honour. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens' and upset at hospital parking price rise. Fearing that its collapse would leave a million workers unemployed, the Labour government nationalized it. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. E 21 Government approves 30 million as first tranche of 100 million investment funds to British British Leyland s Rover workers at Solihull Leyland. As shop . Derek Robinson - nicknamed "Red Robbo" by tabloid newspapers - was one of the biggest names in the trade union movement during the 1970s. 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. kim darby and johnny crawford, newark airport air traffic, fedex vehicles with bulkhead doors, Faded quickly, so it [ ] against anyone found dozing at work for about 7 years had! Credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland s Rover workers at Solihull Leyland flawed gems and shops... What about the great unmentionables the likes of the country was changing World War, on... True horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the much-maligned Leyland. From behind an extractor fan in a series of strikes and walkouts over hospital parking price rise:! 1979, another BL Plant was in the news for similar reasons and. 7 years he had the support of the Allegro, Marina and Princess a union leadership with whom had... 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