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. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor . It will prove that ordinary working people have got the intelligence and determination to run industry'. As for his Red Robbo nickname, Mr Robinson told MPs in 2000 he regarded it as a badge of honour. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. Judge for yourself. Do I have to update my blue V5 to a red V5C? 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. 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. 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. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. NICKNAMED Red Robbo, Derek Robinson became one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s and as the shop stewards' convener at British Leyland was the man responsible for no fewer than 523 . Photography James Page/LAT. "The Communist Party then dominated the factory's workforce, with many hundred Daily Workers [newspaper] being sold every day," he wrote in his blog. 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 . Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party of Britain [1] Derek Robinson (1927-2017) was a British trade unionist. It was about two oclock in the afternoon. Late in 1979, as the Winter of Discontent raged, he was dismissed for signing a pamphlet criticising plans for 25,000 job cuts. What's he waiting for? 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. 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. He will give evidence today. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. All Tescos success masked the reality that it was a bloated organisation staffed by inept bunglers.The brand value of Tesco was all conquering.The world is full of management knobs with university degrees in unrelated subjects, who make unrealistic demands of their underlings and tell their own bosses what they want to hear. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. By the winter of 1979, as 1.5 million public sector workers were on strike across the UK, the Labour government was in its final throes. I can't think of anyone who . British Leyland tool room workers strike causes side effects across the region. The Government should also be enthusiastic. Following the election of Margaret Thatcher in May 1979, the government and BL sought to implement a recovery plan to save the ailing company. It was a fantastic shape but, when I parked it, nobody looked at it. Mr Robinson worked as an engineering apprentice during the Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a plant in Longbridge. 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". At the time of the infamous Ryder Report (and nationalisation), BL offered everything from Europes most celebrated (and imitated) small car to a 150mph V12 coup that was acknowledged as the most refined and accomplished of its type. 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. As shop . He was dressed. He added that communists active in Unite "mourned the loss of their most distinguished veteran, a mentor and guide to us all". He was credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland between 1978 and 1979, costing an estimated 200 million in lost . Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. 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. 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. 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. There are inept managers everywhere.Tesco were once omnipotent. Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The company refused to comment while a hearing was still continuing into charges against a Superintendent. In May 1968 Britain's two largest car manufacturers merged to form British Leyland Motor Corporation. See thats the part that confuses me. 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. Even today, there are certain professions where . Then Aldi and Lidl arrived and the facade melted away. 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. Yesterday they faced a disciplinary hearing. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. 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. 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. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Modified date: August 5, 2017. 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. DAILY MIRROR. "There were big strikes across British Leyland, but union leaders instructed them to go back to work," Mr Loach believes. In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. 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. Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. E 21 Government approves 30 million as first tranche of 100 million investment funds to British British Leyland s Rover workers at Solihull Leyland. The public believed the brand was the cheapest and Tesco seemed poised to conquer every field of commerce. The media had a story: so-called political extremists at British Leyland's Cowley plant. 13 November 1979. British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes shared that view. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. 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. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. 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. By Chris Hampson. 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. Management regarded him as an "insidious influence" and his days at the car firm had been numbered. 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 demise of the firm was nothing to do with the design and engineering. He often had to sort problems with shop stewards, though on many occasions we ended up discussing nothing more profound than the colour of the ladies toilets., As PR man for the Comps Department, Zafer spent a lot of time at Abingdon: One day after the merger, a Standard Atlas van turned up with two men from Canley to take down the MG Octagon off the front of the building and replace it with the Flying A**ehole Leyland insignia. Not just the NHS government in general! 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. acquired by BMC in 1953. 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. The men said that, when they had done their work, they should be allowed to go home. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. 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. 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. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. But taking a bed to work was a deliberate act of anticipation.. 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. 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. Our picture shows Maureen Crook and her seven woman party, wives of striking workers at British Leyland's Triumph No.2 factory in Speke, with their petition of over 1000 signatures for Prime Minister Jim Callaghan. Opinion : Derek Robinson: Victim or villain? 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. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. The sleeping on the night shift story went quiet until the New Year of 1980. One night him and his mate who were on the maintenance nightshift went to sleep in the cupboards. Thatcher provided British Leyland with 2.9 billion pounds ($4.4 billion) of taxpayer money from 1979 to 1988, Rhys said. 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. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former colleagues. The spokesman at the Land Rover plant in Solihull: We do not condone sleeping or dozing in working hours.. 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 . A combination of poor steel and corrosion, so Lancia werent entirely to blame. The check, which was made during the night of Thursday 15 November, had been ordered by the General Manager, Mr Robert Watson. 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 . 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. I am worried sick." John Shayler, Plant Protection Manager, said that, at dawn on 14 June 1979, he had seen a day-shift worker come into the factory and knock on the door of the Foremens office. 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. 9 January 1980. 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. British Leyland trade union leader. Not really, its just moved from BL to the NHS. 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. Family Cottage near Leyland, Lancashire. On unveiling day, the company boasted, 100,000 Britons packed into showrooms to see the car and placed orders worth . Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens' and upset at hospital parking price rise. 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. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. By 1975, it had been bailed out by the government, which now owned 95% of it. One factor perhaps not widely understood is that chronic under-investment meant that many major components were being built on pre-war tooling, whereas the Germans, for example, had all the latest kit. They discovered all the 14 men employed there, including a supervisor, asleep or dozing in sleeping bags, blankets and makeshift bunks. This introduction is being written on 30 November 2011, the day we saw 2.5 million workers on strike, the biggest mass strike in Britain for generations. Stories from those at the coalface. That had to be the responsibility of management.. I dont think we realised what halcyon days we were living through at the time., AT THE TIME, BRITISH LEYLAND HAD THE BIGGEST ADVERTISING BUDGET IN THE UK, AS PEARSON RECALLS: LORD STOKES WAS COGENT, ACCESSIBLE TO ALL AND A LISTENER!. The measured day rate replaced piece work at around 1970-1974 IIRC. 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. In February 1980, less than a year after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, thousands of car workers gathered following the sacking of one man. A Supervisor who was sleeping was also dismissed, along with a Foreman. Enter your username or email to reset your password. 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. work. Strikes co-ordinated by Mr Robinson cost British Leyland 200m in lost production, according to chairman Michael Edwardes Former Leyland worker Stephen Cox said Mr Robinson was regarded by many . Year: 1977. He worked variously for Morris, Austin, BMC, BLMC, BMLH, Leyland Cars, Austin-Morris and Jaguar-Rover- Triumph Thats roughly a new corporate brand every 10 months and on the launches of the Allegro, 18-22 Series, TR7 and XJ-S. At that time, BL had the biggest advertising budget in the UK, he says, and we gave Saatchi its first-ever car account, which was the Princess., Dapper, silver-haired Alan Zafer, who began at MG, goes further: It was probably the greatest range of cars under one umbrella. Hello there we are looking for witnesses to the fire next door can you help. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it [] []. Michael Edwardes, who has died aged 88, was the chair of the car giant British Leyland during the critical period of the company's transformation from 1977 to 1982. 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 in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. 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.. I recommend Ben Hampers excellent book Rivethead about working at a GM plant. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . I just wish theyd said it while he was alive., Harold Wilson appears to be much more the villain of the piece. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 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". Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? Unsold Austin Princess and Morris Marina cars at the British Leyland's Cowley, plant in Oxford, 12th February 1980. Tesco is the same, they thought they could dominate the market forever as they pioneered the pile em high, sell em cheap style of supermarket, but were caught out by smaller continental rivals who beat them on price and quality. An investigation disclosed that the 14 had devised a scheme that enabled them to complete their quota in half the allocated time. She said: My husband rang to tell me that they have all lost their jobs.. When we walked the shop floor, I think 90 per cent of the employees had actually gone home. Where can you get cheap classic car insurance? When questioned the men said they had completed their work quota. 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.. 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. "He wasn't at all like what the media portrayed him as in the 1970s," he said. 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. 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. Manage Settings Be the first to rate this post. 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. 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. The British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. The Daily Mail claimed that the car firm British Leyland was paying bribes, and was exposed for printing a ludicrous hoax. 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. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. Seth Smith recalls the introduction of the Series III E-type in 1971: We took journalists to Browns Lane and had a nice presentation on the V12 then took them on a tour of the new engine shop. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. Robinson was involved in some 500 walkouts at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Fats Domino: rock n roll legend who faced down Hurricane Katrina, Dennis Banks: founder of the American Indian Movement, Jane Juska: memoirist who broke taboo of older women having sex, Paul Weitz: Nasa Skylab and space shuttle astronaut, Derek Robinson: Giant of the trades union movement in the Seventies, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay voucher code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. 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