Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. 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. DAILY MIRROR. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. She said: "My husband rang to tell me that they have all lost their jobs.". I can't think of anyone who . 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. . DeSantis won't say he's running. It needs to be left alone. 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. As for his Red Robbo nickname, Mr Robinson told MPs in 2000 he regarded it as a badge of honour. 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. Management regarded him as an "insidious influence" and his days at the car firm had been numbered. Indeed it almost looks like Corsas, Combos and Vectras had a salmon pink colour option! BL began selling its interests in the 1980s, and by 1990 the Ford Motor . Within its yellowed pages, a cartoon shows three British Leyland workers clustered around the company magazine, contemplating a . Location: Leyland, Lancashire. They had begun a policy of non-cooperation following the managements moves to stop workers leaving before the shift was completed. 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 . The incident would be reported to the management and judged on the circumstances. 2023 BBC. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. 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. 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. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. 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. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. 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. Even today, there are certain professions where . Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. 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 the biggest management Sell Your Car On Honest John Classics For Free. British Leyland trade union leader. work. Mr Lampett, who joined Rover 22 years earlier as a Tool Setter, said: I believe I have been treated very harshly. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. British Motor Holdings merged with the Leyland Motor Company to form the British Leyland Motor Corporation on January 17, 1968. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it []. Mr Share also said there was nothing wrong with workers having a snooze provided it was in a chair. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. after annual holidays (see 5 July). Lancashire's workers have increased the amount of hours they put in by 1.5% since . 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. E 21 Government approves 30 million as first tranche of 100 million investment funds to British British Leyland s Rover workers at Solihull Leyland. Stories from those at the coalface. Mr Robinson led the fight back, organising hundreds of disputes. The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. But why had Mr Robinson's fellow workers not supported him? Photography James Page/LAT. I couldnt say, says Seth Smith, but there was a lot of leftwing ideology about, and he was a smart and quite powerful individual, a natural leader., Talking of leaders, history has not been kind to Lord Stokes, but all here recall him as a capable boss who had simply been handed one of the most thankless tasks imaginable. 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 . Had similar on a 2002 406, at the door bottoms, possibly because of a bad seal. The British rail class 153 super sprinters are single car units converted in the 1990s from British Leyland built two-car class 155s. Slight wear at extremities of boards. Communist Party of Great Britain, Communist Party of Britain [1] Derek Robinson (1927-2017) was a British trade unionist. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Its just a shame that for a lot of the 70s they were rightly derided for their quality. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. But by this time British Leylands crisis had become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions. The Unite union said the "dedicated life-long trade unionist" fought for "the rights and future" of workers. It will prove that ordinary working people have got the intelligence and determination to run industry'. We must develop a campaign that involves every BL worker, every component worker and the wider Labour movement. However, despite this rallying call and a walkout by thousands of workers in support of their dismissed convenor, an official strike vote failed. 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. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. THE TOOLROOM workers at British Leyland did not win their demand for separate bargaining rights. "These words are a suitable epithet for a stalwart of the trade union movement, whose passing we mourn.". The company assumed its current name in 1982. Learn how your comment data is processed. The night shift came in and went to sleep. 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 . Then Aldi and Lidl arrived and the facade melted away. History will show that Derek was unfairly maligned by the media as he aimed to find solutions to British Leylands industrial disputes and turn around the car company., Derek Robinson, trade union leader, born 1927, died 31 October 2017, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. What's he waiting for? A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. 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. Be the first to rate this post. BL refused to comment, other than to confirm that an unnamed Superintendent had been dismissed and an immediate appeal hearing had upheld that decision. 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 . 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. The UCPI is a damage limitation exercise by the British state, established in 2015 after the exposure of widespread use of undercover police agents against political organisations. 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. "His legacy ought to be that you've got to fight," said Mr Loach. It needs the shock treatment of standing on its own two feet like any other business. Position: Children's Residential Support Worker. A stickler for historical accuracy he has recently performed the marathon task of mining the online newspaper articles for all BMC>MG related stories. . 2023 BBC. Hello there we are looking for witnesses to the fire next door can you help. Ray Horrocks (right), the head of BL Cars, told Chairman Michael Edwardes: We talk of regaining management control and applying proper discipline. 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.. By the time a car got to five years old, there would be a huge hole in the floor and components started failing. Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection: Quirky hotel, good for parties and groups - Read 1,173 reviews, view 382 traveller photos, and find great deals for Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection at Tripadvisor. Stories from those at the coalface. The story first hit the headlines on 12 November 1979 when it was revealed that 14 night shift workers had been caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant. Not to mention any management off home by 3pm.Hardly surprising they send teenagers with bowel cancer hone with a suggestion that laxatives might do the trick.. The biggest problem was scabs of rust breaking through the paint all over the car within a couple of years. 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? When Leylands successor, Rover, was subsequently sold off to BMW, Robinson told a group of MPs at a meeting in Birmingham during March 2000 I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent. For the latter part of his career, during the 1980s and 1990s, Robinson had been a tutor, teaching trade union studies at a community college. I realised that it wasnt going to sell somehow it had no presence. We had a LDV van at work for about 7 years. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. Says Pearson: We had quite regular contact with DGS as he was known internally. They made BL look like rank amateurs. The size, militancy and determination felt on the pickets, demos and rallies show that the sleeping giant, the British working class, has stirred. 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