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 . By 1975, it had been bailed out by the government, which now owned 95% of it. That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. He was dressed. Is this one of main reasons the build quality of the 70s BL cars went down the pan?? An uncompromising and . But the political mood of the country was changing. 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 . He left school aged 14 to begin work at the Austin plant at Longbridge, initially as an apprentice toolmaker. 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! DeSantis won't say he's running. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. 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 . Location: Leyland, Lancashire. 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 . 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. after annual holidays (see 5 July). Learn how your comment data is processed. When questioned the men said they had completed their work quota. I can't think of anyone who . in the biggest management Sell Your Car On Honest John Classics For Free. 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. 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 . 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 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. At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Its just a shame that for a lot of the 70s they were rightly derided for their quality. 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. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. At one stage one in eight pounds spent in Britain were with Tesco. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. That was not the responsibility of the employees, that was not the responsibility of the workforce. 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. 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!. 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. DeSantis won't say he's running. The great BL adventure started promisingly, as Tim Greenhill points out: When I began as an apprentice, the 1100/1300 had 15% of the UK market and BMC overall had 30%: when it joined Leyland, Rover and Jaguar, it had 60%!, In fact, there was never a problem selling Rovers, Jaguars or Triumphs, which didnt have the image problems of the more strategically important family models. The biggest problem was scabs of rust breaking through the paint all over the car within a couple of years. 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. 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. British Leyland would once again become a privately-owned company and the size of the state sector would be reduced. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. Lancashire's workers have increased the amount of hours they put in by 1.5% since . Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. Opinion : Derek Robinson: Victim or villain? Undermining the shopfloor Read about our approach to external linking. For many, Mr Robinson is remembered "very badly", according to Chris Cowin, an expert on British Leyland's history. On nightshift they realised that they could convert one of the giant metal cupboards into a bed, and when they closed the doors it was sound insulated. The organisation specialises in providing best-in-class care and . Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. 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. A stickler for historical accuracy he has recently performed the marathon task of mining the online newspaper articles for all BMC>MG related stories. 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. 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. 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. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. The odd 1m going missing (I would have paid money to see the auditors face when they found that little gem), contractors doing nothing for weeks at 100 a day because the bloke who set the administration lock password buggered off for sunnier climes without telling anyone what it was. Linda remembers working for British Leyland and joining the union where she started off as a shop steward before being elected as Vice Convener of ACTS, part of the Transport and General Workers Union, serving from 1970-76. 3. "He wasn't at all like what the media portrayed him as in the 1970s," he said. 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. 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. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. After two days of disciplinary hearings and . 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. 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. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. 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. Stories from those at the coalface. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. 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. 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. 20 illustrated plate. The sleeping on the night shift story went quiet until the New Year of 1980. The story first hit the headlines on 12 November 1979 when it was revealed that 14night shift workershad been caught sleeping at a British Leyland plant. 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. But taking a bed to work was a deliberate act of anticipation.. Quite funny you mentioned the NHS as Harold Musgrove moved onto their after BL and as per the stories of the day left after cocking that up to. Mr Robinson worked as an engineering apprentice during the Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a plant in Longbridge. Enter your username or email to reset your password. Read about our approach to external linking. Transcribed & marked up by Einde O'Callaghan for ETOL.. Email Print. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. When former Triumph and Leyland Special Tuning man Richard Seth Smith arrives, proffering a rare Rover SD1 press pack, all concerned nod sagely at the suggestion that this was yet another brilliantly conceived but indifferently executed car. In February 1980, less than a year after Margaret Thatcher became prime minister, thousands of car workers gathered following the sacking of one man. 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. A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. 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. Mr Lampett, who joined Rover 22 years earlier as a Tool Setter, said: I believe I have been treated very harshly. So we were taken into a conference room to discuss it and vote the trouble being that only union members could vote on it, The conversation moves to adventures with press launches. 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. The following day Robert Yates lost his appeal for unfair dismissal. The quota system mentioned seems to have been a relic of the deal to end piecework in the early 1970s. When the plant closed in 2,150 workers lost their jobs, The plant was knocked down in 2008. . Not really, its just moved from BL to the NHS. But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. 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! The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. Seven years ago Tony Cliff wrote, 'The aim of the . The result has been the opposition of senior stewards to the toolmakers' strike earlier this year, and the fiascos of the April 20 strike against the Social Contract and the Longbridge strike vote in August 1977. He will give evidence today. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. 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. This kind of thing was riff everywhere. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. There are inept managers everywhere.Tesco were once omnipotent. The tribunal at Birmingham heard that the events took place in June 1979, not November as previously assumed, after a six-month investigation into alleged clock-card malpractices at the Solihull plant. 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. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. DAILY MIRROR. It needs to be left alone. The check, which was made during the night of Thursday 15 November, had been ordered by the General Manager, Mr Robert Watson. 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. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 asBritish Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Former Leyland worker Stephen Cox said Mr Robinson was regarded by many as "way out on an extreme". It wasnt just at BL. He was a lovely guy, recalls Greenhill, when you werent in a meeting with him. Was he a communist infiltrator? Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, Dubbed Red Robbo by the press, the Communist Party memberrepresented workers in car manufacturing during the pre-Thatcher era, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Salary: 24,000 - 28,000 per annum including sleep-in allowance. So that was the sleeping on the night-shift affair. It was about two oclock in the afternoon. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. Hello there we are looking for witnesses to the fire next door can you help. Modified date: August 5, 2017. 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. Bits of hardware still running off BBC B computers..! Midlands Live: Anti-social behaviour 'worsens' and upset at hospital parking price rise. 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. Good condition, owner's inscription on flyleaf. We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. 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. Belated attempts to set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the Shop Stewards. 1970 Ferrari 512M track test Group 5 great driven at Paul Ricard, Driving the legendary Bentley 3 Litre and Bentley 4 Litre. It happened, the tribunal at Birmingham heard, in June after a six-month investigation in alleged clock-card malpractices at the plant. My god it was awful, it was bought . "He is quoted as saying: 'If we make Leyland successful, it will be a political victory. Do I have to update my blue V5 to a red V5C? 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. The tabloid paid the equivalent of 75,000 to buy letters which not only . Be the first to rate this post. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. The behavior of absenteeism is normally evidenced in work places where some workers may decide to make absenteeism their habit. leader of the unofficial BL shop stewards' committee. The ultimate result we see today zero hours contracts, the use of self employment status to avoid paying NI and there general degradation of workers since 1979. We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city? Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Over 50,000 workers across British Leyland immediately came out on strike, including the 20,000 workers at Longbridge in . Duration: 0:05:15. . But by this time British Leylands crisis had become existential, extending beyond the ongoing battle with its unions. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. The struggle for equality at work. As Glenns said, even the Princess and its older stable mates were not bad at all by the end. 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. Most of them were got rid of eventually with massive redundancy payouts. (10 seconds outside of a garage in hot sun and the paint would fade and turn into something resembling 1000 grit sandpaper..?). It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. In the 1980s and 90s, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies, teaching shop stewards. 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. When I asked, What happened? I was told Well, theyve finished their stint. In fact, some had finished by one oclock. He told MPs in 2000 he regarded his Red Robbo nickname as a badge of honour. Fearing that its collapse would leave a million workers unemployed, the Labour government nationalized it. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. Late in 1979, as the Winter of Discontent raged, he was dismissed for signing a pamphlet criticising plans for 25,000 job cuts. The Daily Mail claimed that the car firm British Leyland was paying bribes, and was exposed for printing a ludicrous hoax. Following his dismissal, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies during the 1980s and 1990s, teaching shop stewards. The incident would be reported to the management and judged on the circumstances. Read about our approach to external linking. The spokesman at the Land Rover plant in Solihull: We do not condone sleeping or dozing in working hours.. 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. British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. They discovered all the 14 men employed there, including a supervisor, asleep or dozing in sleeping bags, blankets and makeshift bunks. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. He was sitting opposite Mr Robinson when the union convenor was finally dismissed. 1990s Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than red these days. 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. 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.. But instead of supporting him, the workers who gathered that February day turned on him. A combination of poor steel and corrosion, so Lancia werent entirely to blame. After two days of disciplinary hearings and appeals, BL dismissed 13 Land Rover car workers, who had been caught sleeping on the night shift. This support saved brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini from . Derek Robinson - Red Robbo - speaks to striking British Leyland workers in Cofton Park. 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. He was 83 years old and had been in poor health for several . "His legacy ought to be that you've got to fight," said Mr Loach. British Leyland trade union leader. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. 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.. Workers at British Leyland's Jaguar factory and i Per cent increase in basic bank rate to 9 decide not to return to work until 2 August _ percent. I pointed out that we paid them until 4.30pm. 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. On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. "He may well have had absolute belief in what he was doing, but few others did," Mr Cox added. A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. 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. 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. Often this meant DJs talked too much to keep within the restrictions, which annoyed listeners, until finally in 1987 needletime was axed. Over the years they have applied pressure to weaken work standards so that, against the already slack standards then applying, they are able to claim they have done their days work and management is powerless to give them more work to complete the shift.. It was incredibly the first new model to come out of Longbridge for seven years, but also notable for the utilisation of modern robot technology to produce it. 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. Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city very badly,. It had been in poor health for several Derek Robinson, one of main the!, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was at. Or email to reset your password and was exposed for printing a ludicrous hoax former Leyland worker and trade Derek. 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Shop stewards ' committee unfairly dismissed for sleeping on the circumstances their stint the Read! Investigation in alleged clock-card malpractices at the much-maligned British Leyland management it happened the... Treated very harshly the state for 13 years nothing to do with the design and.. At British Leyland management s inscription on flyleaf paint all over the car within a couple years! On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British 's... Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies during the Second War.