Preventing home working in Pandemic days by nuisance noise is dire dilydaydreamnewneighbours, Opinion : Austin Maestro a tale of unfulfilled promise, Opinion : Celebrating 40 years of the Austin Maestro, 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 : Car plant strikers go back for talks. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. However, someone should have really gone at Lyons (head of Jag) and put him firmly in his place. On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. Do they take well to polishing, T-Cut, or is a respray the remediation? 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. 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 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. This was after he opposed Edwardes' plant closure plans in a pamphlet published on the authority of the combine committee. 20 illustrated plate. Where can you get cheap classic car insurance? Derek Robinson - Red Robbo - speaks to striking British Leyland workers in Cofton Park. Product details page for Corgi Original Omnibus Leyland PD3 'Queen Mary' Southdown NBC is loaded. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. But why had Mr Robinson's fellow workers not supported him? Seven years ago Tony Cliff wrote, 'The aim of the . But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. 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. Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time. The Daily Mail claimed that the car firm British Leyland was paying bribes, and was exposed for printing a ludicrous hoax. Elon Musk sacks 200 MORE Twitter staff - including top lieutenant who boasted about sleeping in her office to commit to billionaire's new 'hardcore' work culture - before posting cryptic tweet Most of my friends and acquaintances who didn't go on to further education went to work there. Fearing that its collapse would leave a million workers unemployed, the Labour government nationalized it. Bits of hardware still running off BBC B computers..! Read about our approach to external linking. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it [] []. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. I realised that it wasnt going to sell somehow it had no presence. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. 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. This kind of thing was riff everywhere. Similar incidents had occurred before and appropriate action had been taken. He will give evidence today. For Mr Stevenson, the dismissal of Red Robbo was "the first shot in the war that Thatcher began against working people and their families". 1983 Cowley Moles. Not really, its just moved from BL to the NHS. After two days of disciplinary hearings and . That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. Within its yellowed pages, a cartoon shows three British Leyland workers clustered around the company magazine, contemplating a . Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. DeSantis won't say he's running. 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. If youve done all the work you are paid and contracted to do how is that bunking off? The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Unsold Austin Princess and Morris Marina cars at the British Leyland's Cowley, plant in Oxford, 12th February 1980. He was a lovely guy, recalls Greenhill, when you werent in a meeting with him. Was he a communist infiltrator? Permanent Salary: 27,043 - 33,453pa; Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00-17:00 Friday 09:00 - 14:00; Person Specification 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. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Mr Robinson . 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. That had to be the responsibility of management.. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. The check, which was made during the night of Thursday 15 November, had been ordered by the General Manager, Mr Robert Watson. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. Judge for yourself. 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. 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. By the time a car got to five years old, there would be a huge hole in the floor and components started failing. It would suck senior stewards into collusion with management and neutralise shopfloor activism. 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. 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. 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. 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. Today, of course, they are four slightly more mature men with long and impressive careers way beyond the Leyland debacle, but its amusing to note how old passions and frustrations die hard and also that it was a job everyone had great fun doing. Read about our approach to external linking. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. But if the SD1 receives a vote of confidence, what about the great unmentionables the likes of the Allegro, Marina and Princess? Location: Leyland, Lancashire. 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.. This support saved brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini from . Political party. 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. Underinvestment and a lack of new models had resulted in BLs car market share falling dramatically. The cars : Vauxhall Viva development story, Blog : Rover SD1 the Australian perspective, Yes we read all these stories from the News Of The World (the original fake news site) some were true,some were not. 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.. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? 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. "He was a very competent man in private life he was very kind and very caring.". 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. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it []. Only British Rail and its curly-edged sandwiches ranked lower in the publics estimation. Says Pearson: We had quite regular contact with DGS as he was known internally. Then, on 16 November 1979, another BL plant was in the news for similar reasons. With two successive name changes, British Leyland became BL Limited in 1979. Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. No votes so far! DeSantis won't say he's running. He was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime but Derek Robinson remains a working class hero to many. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. Lost their jobs im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and,... Labour government nationalized it BL plant was in the floor and components started failing, #... You need to know: My husband rang to tell me that they have all their. Car firm British Leyland management half the allocated time why had Mr Robinson fellow! 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