And apart from the stupid steering wheel, the Allegro was pretty good, and a lot less labourintensive to produce than the 1100/1300., Was the UK press quicker to stick the boot in when things went wrong than they were in, say, France? This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. 3. Following his dismissal, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies during the 1980s and 1990s, teaching shop stewards. 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 . The tabloid paid the equivalent of 75,000 to buy letters which not only . Whether or not unions in the UK took industrial action more than unions in Europe and North America is a moot point, much of the rubbish produced by the NoW, Daily Mail etc is treated as if it was historical fact nowdays where it should be regarded as propaganda. "There were big strikes across British Leyland, but union leaders instructed them to go back to work," Mr Loach believes. They had found that double the recommended number of body panels could be hung on the paint conveyor. Product details page for Corgi Original Omnibus Leyland PD3 'Queen Mary' Southdown NBC is loaded. The men said that, when they had done their work, they should be allowed to go home. 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 . But the political mood of the country was changing. Known for. The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. That kind of thing went on a lot in the 70s. Enter your username or email to reset your password. Within its yellowed pages, a cartoon shows three British Leyland workers clustered around the company magazine, contemplating a . A little later, through a window, he saw two men, naked from the waist up. But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. Photography James Page/LAT. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over alleged mismanagement. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. 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. I am worried sick." At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. 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. BL began selling its interests in the 1980s, and by 1990 the Ford Motor . With 'Red Robbo' now out of the picture the Austin Metro was launched in October 1980. 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. If you want to see the true horrors of 1970s workplaces, have a look at the ship building industry. I can't think of anyone who . "He wasn't at all like what the media portrayed him as in the 1970s," he said. By Chris Hampson. The men at Drews Lane had worked to rule for several weeks in protest at management attempts to stop them leaving early. That was not the responsibility of the employees, that was not the responsibility of the workforce. It wasnt just at BL. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. 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. I hadnt been there for many years. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Yesterday they faced a disciplinary hearing. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. 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. 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. We all worked like hell to make it work Inside British Leyland. Mr Robinson led the fight back, organising hundreds of disputes. 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 . BLMC was created in 1968 by the merger of British Motor Holdings (BMH) and Leyland Motor Corporation (LMC), encouraged by the Wilson . Six hundred workers had been laid off indefinitely because of a shortage of suspension units caused by a work to rule by 150 workers at the transmission plant at Drews Lane. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 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. 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. 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. Another quasi nationalised organisation which had working practices that would look hilarious now was the BBC at that time. Im a former Austin Maestro owner, admirer and salesman, so it [] []. Often this meant DJs talked too much to keep within the restrictions, which annoyed listeners, until finally in 1987 needletime was axed. He hopes his friend will be remembered as "one of those stalwarts in the post-war era that maintained a better life for ordinary people", not as an "agitator" or "destroyer" which he said was "a complete invention". 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. So that was the sleeping on the night-shift affair. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. It was about two oclock in the afternoon. 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. 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. Your email address will not be published. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. 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. 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!. Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over alleged mismanagement. In this occasional series Ian Nichollsrevisits some of these stories, using the newspaper articles of the time as the main source of information. They made BL look like rank amateurs. Ultimately it meant most of the industry disappeared as merchant shipbuilding went abroad and the few yards that survive now only do so because of defence contracts. Permanent Salary: 27,043 - 33,453pa; Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00-17:00 Friday 09:00 - 14:00; Person Specification 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. 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. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor . Then Aldi and Lidl arrived and the facade melted away. The British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968. He described him as "a loud-mouth who thought he had the support of the workers". 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.. It was a merger promoted by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation set up by the 1964-70 Labour government of Harold Wilson. Former Leyland worker Stephen Cox said Mr Robinson was regarded by many as "way out on an extreme". 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. History will show that Derek was unfairly maligned by the media as he aimed to find solutions to British Leyland's industrial disputes and turn around the car company." Derek Robinson, trade . Similar incidents had occurred before and appropriate action had been taken. Duration: 0:05:15. . Year: 1977. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. 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. The Question was as follows: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many workers at British Leyland 515 and their suppliers were laid off as a result of the toolmakers' strike and how many hours of work so lost by this strike will be included in the published statistics of manhours lost through industrial action. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Perhaps more importantly, the rational economy, which includes companies like ICJ, Racal and . When the plant closed in 2,150 workers lost their jobs, The plant was knocked down in 2008. . The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. This kind of thing was riff everywhere. 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. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . What's he waiting for? Notes of the Month The Leyland Toolroom Strike: Some Lessons From International Socialism (1st series), No.97, April 1977, pp.4-5. it was just part of a long running campaign by the mainly right wing press that had gone on since the end of WW2 against organized labour. This support saved brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover and Mini from . 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. 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. 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. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. 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. 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. 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. 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. See thats the part that confuses me. Robinson was born in Cradley Heath, near Birmingham, in 1927, to a family of chainmakers. Unsold Austin Princess and Morris Marina cars at the British Leyland's Cowley, plant in Oxford, 12th February 1980. 2023 BBC. "He's seen as a troublemaker, someone who resisted attempts to modernise," he said. We must develop a campaign that involves every BL worker, every component worker and the wider Labour movement. 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