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 born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. 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. He was sitting opposite Mr Robinson when the union convenor was finally dismissed. That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Read about our approach to external linking. A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. Photography James Page/LAT. 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.. Lancashire's workers have increased the amount of hours they put in by 1.5% since . Exterior view of British Leyland Strandard Triumph works entrance and gatehouse at Canley, Coventry . 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. Am I being targeted by an overpayment scam? We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. 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. 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. Red Robbo speaks to striking workers at Longbridge in the 1970s. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. Mr Lampett, who joined Rover 22 years earlier as a Tool Setter, said: I believe I have been treated very harshly. 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. But taking a bed to work was a deliberate act of anticipation.. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over alleged mismanagement. Seth Smith joined Leyland Motor Corporation as Triumph press officer in 1967, and in 1968 helped with the famous announcement of the Leyland and BMH merger. Following his death on Tuesday aged 90, BBC News examines his legacy. Born in Bedfordshire but now residing in Norfolk, Ian Nicholls is an ardent BL enthusiast. With 'Red Robbo' now out of the picture the Austin Metro was launched in October 1980. 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. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. Stories from those at the coalface. The paint turned dull and flat quite quickly. Christopher Lunt worked at Longbridge until MG Rover - the successor company to British Leyland - went into administration in 2005. Learn how your comment data is processed. This support saved brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini from . The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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. Even today, there are certain professions where . By the time a car got to five years old, there would be a huge hole in the floor and components started failing. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Seven years ago Tony Cliff wrote, 'The aim of the . The company assumed its current name in 1982. The men said that, under BLs Measured Day Work system of payment, they were entitled to leave as soon as they had completed their output target for the day. People were not being properly paid and rewarded so they got together and formed their own alliance. Although Edwardes had a reputation as a union basher, Robinson supported the idea of working with him under a policy of participation, whereby unions and management would cooperate on matters of industrial relations. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 asBritish Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . Two of them had clocked 24 or 25 cards. Odd we never ever had a BL product..Incidentally Ive never ever seen a red SD1 before.. Did they suffer from the Renault red effect? Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. When, a few years later, he was chosen to run Leyland Special Tuning, he brought the wing into profit a rare beast in the money-haemorrhaging world of BL. "He's seen as a troublemaker, someone who resisted attempts to modernise," he said. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. He will give evidence today. He added that communists active in Unite "mourned the loss of their most distinguished veteran, a mentor and guide to us all". Where can you get cheap classic car insurance? He will give evidence today. He was a lovely guy, recalls Greenhill, when you werent in a meeting with him. Was he a communist infiltrator? However, someone should have really gone at Lyons (head of Jag) and put him firmly in his place. When questioned the men said they had completed their work quota. 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! Whatexactly happened and whenare not easy to decipher. Here, after all, was the worlds fourth-biggest car maker building the planets most complete and ambitious range of vehicles. Read about our approach to external linking. First edition. Your email address will not be published. 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. One of the most notorious trade unionists in recent memory has died aged 90. These were blamed by managers for delays to production of 62,000 cars and 113,000 engines, costing the business an estimated 200m. Permanent Salary: 27,043 - 33,453pa; Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00-17:00 Friday 09:00 - 14:00; Person Specification But at Drews Lane we still have an extraordinary situation. 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. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. 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. Similar incidents had occurred before and appropriate action had been taken. BL began selling its interests in the 1980s, and by 1990 the Ford Motor . Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. 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. 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. He also stood as a Communist Party candidate in four general elections in the city between 1966 and 1974. 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. Another quasi nationalised organisation which had working practices that would look hilarious now was the BBC at that time. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. The Government should also be enthusiastic. He was accessible to all, cogent and a listener! 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. (10 seconds outside of a garage in hot sun and the paint would fade and turn into something resembling 1000 grit sandpaper..?). Indeed it almost looks like Corsas, Combos and Vectras had a salmon pink colour option! On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. British Leyland's Truck and Tractor Plant, Bathgate, 1980. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. Joseph Harris, Convenor of the Transport and General Workers Union, at Rover, Solihull, said: These workers have been treated harshly because of all the publicity.The disciplinary hearings ended on 14 November 14 1979 whenBL dismissed the Superintendent in charge of the day and night shifts in that area of the Land Rover plant at Solihull. 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. 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! 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