THE OFFICIAL strike of 4100 assembly workers at Ford Halewood in Merseyside has entered its fourth week.
Kelly, has shut down plant workers laid off:
Kelly is wrongly Ford management and unions alike see this much more than harass ment of an indiyidual worker. a test of strength. Ford bosses want submission to radical new work practices and demanning. Whatever the cost, they are trying to crush the worktorce. But awooe workers are having none of it.
In 1980 Ford bosses travelled to Japan to in management methods. The result was a major anti-union rationalisation project, nicknamed 'After Japan' AJ for short. claim that its introduction other countries has brought them from a $2 billion loss in 1980 to a payoul lo snarenolaels.
Hall Rowny blames it all on the Mongols The action, taken to defend sacked worker Paul Halewood, with 4600 body For the sake of a bracket worth 85p, which of damaging, workers stand in the way ot these ruthless measures to screw more out of the Ford workers here have resisted moves AJ, which threaten jobs, speed-up and a shatshop floor Lenne organisation.
Another 1700 jobs go on of the 1300 lost from Halewooc through voluntary redundancy. In the next 18 monthis, 3,000 of the 19,000 Dagenham jobs threatened. Mass Within days of being laid off, a Halewood bodi plant mass meeting voted take action HILOOICE new work patterns on their Halewood assembly plant shop steward Jimmy "This dispute is about control. It Carcus ramauceve because the national Ford hierarchy took it up. They want to do their utmost to the lads' pockets and take the backbone out of a future fight. Plan "The AJ plan affects all Ford workers, not just Halewood While we were on strike, the body plant LOOK the opportunity to discuss how this would af tect all with robotisa tion and demanning.
'The Illas. meeting decided that when work whether we're out hours or weeks, this will be the next issue.
'The body plant will walk along the road • on strike if they try to inwork prac LICES 'The Bridgend plant WelC working overtime like it was going out of style. The work was going to Valencia and Saarlouis to bring it back into the country at Halewood's ex pense 'We've had a word with the dockers they're going to stop this Now the Escort engine assembly workers at Bridgend are back to a 39 hour week with an overtime ban to support us Jimmy describes management's attempts to break strike support with *love letters promising an industrial tribunal' and frighteners about plant closure.
Fight 'We believe that even if the tribunal finds in Paul Kelly's favour, , it may not make a recommendation • reinstate him This is why this is totally unaccepThe Financial Times (20.3.83) reported that in 1981 only 0.7 per cent o unfair dismissal tribunal resulted in a decision for reinstatement. Can this be a misprint?
HOrd workers rightly know they have to take into their hands for unconditional reinstatement and to fight a Ford carve up.
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management have sabotaged production of over 12,000 Escorts, at the cost of £60 million.