Transcribed & marked up by Einde O'Callaghan for ETOL.. The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. Good condition, owner's inscription on flyleaf. 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. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. 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. Mr Robinson . 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. Am I being targeted by an overpayment scam? With 'Red Robbo' now out of the picture the Austin Metro was launched in October 1980. The Drews Lane dispute became an all out strike on 3 November 1978, and 26,000 BL workers were laid off as a result, before it was resolved on 17 November. Often this meant DJs talked too much to keep within the restrictions, which annoyed listeners, until finally in 1987 needletime was axed. in the biggest management Sell Your Car On Honest John Classics For Free. 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 all worked like hell to make it work" Inside British Leyland. After two days of disciplinary hearings and appeals, BL dismissed 13 Land Rover car workers, who had been caught sleeping on the night shift. The biggest problem was scabs of rust breaking through the paint all over the car within a couple of years. Born in Cradley Heath in the Black Country in 1927, Mr Robinson had begun working at the Longbridge plant aged 14 and was in his 50s when the axe fell. 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. 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. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 asBritish Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . "He was a very competent man in private life he was very kind and very caring.". A survey by a Superintendent at Oxford Exhausts, a factory making most of BLs exhaust systems and petrol tanks, found employees, dozing in various parts of the factory.. 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. Ian is unable to help with technical queries he pays other people to fix his cars! 2023 BBC. He was dressed. 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! This has not happened easily and Black and Asian people have often had to fight for their rights. 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. DAILY MIRROR. Mr Robinson worked as an engineering apprentice during the Second World War, progressing on to become shop steward at a plant in Longbridge. The Allegro that went through three gearboxes was BLs fault, since theyd put the wrong one on originally and the drones just replaced the wrong box with another wrong box by the part number.. And reduced my dads colleague to tears.. 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 . Five minutes afterwards Mr Yates came out. Formerly a convenor and shop steward within car manufacturer British Leyland for much of the 1970s, he was commonly known as " Red Robbo " in the British press. We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city? The case against me was brought following publicity and not on the facts.. Williams Lyons. A firebrand union leader and former British Leyland worker has died aged 90. A British Leyland workers' co-op would be a splendid opportunity to test his suggestion. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. Tributes have been paid to former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson, who has died, aged 90. Whatexactly happened and whenare not easy to decipher. BL began selling its interests in the 1980s, and by 1990 the Ford Motor . So that was the sleeping on the night-shift affair. 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. 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. 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. Doubling up as it was known-working extra fast so you could bunk off-wasnt confined to BL either. E 21 Government approves 30 million as first tranche of 100 million investment funds to British British Leyland s Rover workers at Solihull Leyland. Known for. Officers discovered Lai was sleeping in a squalid property . He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. 1990s Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than red these days. He wrote in his 1983 book, Back from the Brink, that Mr Robinson had "kept Longbridge in ferment and upheaval" for years and "disruption and upheaval" were his "food and drink". Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Derek Robinson - Red Robbo - speaks to striking British Leyland workers in Cofton Park. They had found that double the recommended number of body panels could be hung on the paint conveyor. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. No votes so far! Once part of the sprawling British Leyland automotive empire that epitomised Britain's industrial decline . It needs the shock treatment of standing on its own two feet like any other business. British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. Fearing that its collapse would leave a million workers unemployed, the Labour government nationalized it. British Leyland was an automotive engineering and manufacturing conglomerate formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor . It was cosmetic rather than structural rust but terrible for the cars reputation. 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. Then Aldi and Lidl arrived and the facade melted away. Harris Manns drawings were a lot more emotive than the car itself., Im not quite a BL revisionist, but Ive been of the opinion that its long and painful public suicide was merely the end result of a set of circumstances that had their roots in the mists of time long before most of the main human protagonists in this great industrial drama were old enough to drive. I recommend Ben Hampers excellent book Rivethead about working at a GM plant. 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. 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. 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. Email Print. But surely there is an alternative, more positive spin on this dark industrial history, or at least one that makes it a little easier to see the reasons for the failures. AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. My god it was awful, it was bought . Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. In my opinion Stokes was let down by his board. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. Underinvestment and a lack of new models had resulted in BLs car market share falling dramatically. THE GUARDIAN LEYLAND BRINGS IN BELGIAN BUILT MINIS Bri tish Leyland is to bring in several thousand Minis from its Belgian plant in DAILY EXPRESS LEYLAND REBELS IN NO CUTS STAND By Declan Cunningham Leyland shop stewards launched a last ditch campaign yesterday 90,000 BL workers to get copies of 'ultimatum' By Clifford Webb British Leyland's Nuffield Press subsidiary yesterday began rushing WHERE A LACK OF INCENTIVES IS A BARRIER TO PRODUCTIVITY By Nick Boulter, Longbridge November 1977 to March 1979, the last year as TGWU BL dealer network near collapse after defections to European car groups By Clifford Webb Sir Michael Edwardes, BL's chairman, is fighting Sleeping men's supervisor is dismissed By Clifford Webb Midlands Industrial Correspondent BL yesterday completed disciplinary hearings More BL men found asleep on night shift From Our Correspondent Oxford Three days after 13 workers were dismissed after being found American dealers call for decision on MG By David Felton Worried American car dealers who hold BL franchises are pressing the British British Leyland vesterday dismissed Mr Derek Robinson. British Leyland would once again become a privately-owned company and the size of the state sector would be reduced. Mr John Share, Personnel Manager, said the company was satisfied that Mr Yates had allowed men to sleep on a night shift and had allowed clocking offences in which he had taken part. He was credited with causing 523 walkouts at British Leyland between 1978 and 1979, costing an estimated 200 million in lost . 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.. Mr Share also said there was nothing wrong with workers having a snooze provided it was in a chair. This kind of thing was riff everywhere. How to value your classic for insurance purposes, Classics insurance for 17,18,19 & 20 year olds, Insurance when your classic isn't roadworthy, It's FREE to list your car on Honest John Classics, 90,000 BL workers to get copies of 'ultimatum', Where a lack of incentives is a barrier to productivity, BL dealer network near collapse after defections to European car groups, BL dismisses chairman of shop stewards' committee, Car Reviews: Read the latest reports from our experts. 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. 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. Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. Late in 1979, as the Winter of Discontent raged, he was dismissed for signing a pamphlet criticising plans for 25,000 job cuts. Says Pearson: We had quite regular contact with DGS as he was known internally. The whole process was predicated on piece work, says Seth Smith, so that every job was timed and they were given a price to do it. 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. "He is quoted as saying: 'If we make Leyland successful, it will be a political victory. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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