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As for his Red Robbo nickname, Mr Robinson told MPs in 2000 he regarded it as a badge of honour. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. He was dressed. 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. I realised that it wasnt going to sell somehow it had no presence. I called into the Plant Directors office and said that Id like to look around to see what was happening. Elon Musk sacks 200 MORE Twitter staff - including top lieutenant who boasted about sleeping in her office to commit to billionaire's new 'hardcore' work culture - before posting cryptic tweet 2023 BBC. 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. 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. Modified date: August 5, 2017. 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. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. Mr Robinson led the fight back, organising hundreds of disputes. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over alleged mismanagement. Manage Settings Sir William Lyons, the founder of Jaguar Cars Ltd., died in his sleep this morning at his home near Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. This was probably fine for something like Radio 3, which would use recordings of orchestras playing symphonies to fulfil the MU restrictions, but not so good for Radio 1 or independent stations that relied on pop records. 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. Once part of the sprawling British Leyland automotive empire that epitomised Britain's industrial decline . 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. A motion for a strike in favour of his reinstatement was overwhelmingly defeated - 14,000 votes against to just 600 in favour. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? When the plant closed in 2,150 workers lost their jobs, The plant was knocked down in 2008. . 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". Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that never matched properly, sold it with the bodged paintwork at a loss. 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.. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Had similar on a 2002 406, at the door bottoms, possibly because of a bad seal. British Leyland's chairman Michael Edwardes shared that view. 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. 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. We must develop a campaign that involves every BL worker, every component worker and the wider Labour movement. However, despite this rallying call and a walkout by thousands of workers in support of their dismissed convenor, an official strike vote failed. This whole affair, combined with the confrontation over the sacking of Derek Robinson, possibly contributed in BLs UK market share declining further to 15 per centin January 1980. Classic car tax exemption: what you need to know. Robinson was not reinstated. 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. Enter your username or email to reset your password. 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. Not just the NHS government in general! Yet surely using cheap steel on what was classed as an upmarket product was a big mistake and the Lancia joined the lesser Fiat Strada on the list of cars to avoid due to premature rust. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. I can't think of anyone who . Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Management regarded him as an "insidious influence" and his days at the car firm had been numbered. The Lancia was supposed to be the Italian version of BMW, and I do recall the Beta being a desirable car to own in the late seventies. 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. 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. 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. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Undermining the shopfloor Even today, there are certain professions where . The statement added that the company regarded the investigation as private. "His legacy ought to be that you've got to fight," said Mr Loach. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. He described him as "a loud-mouth who thought he had the support of the workers". He was 83 years old and had been in poor health for several . "He wasn't at all like what the media portrayed him as in the 1970s," he said. 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!. I hadnt been there for many years. In this occasional series Ian Nichollsrevisits some of these stories, using the newspaper articles of the time as the main source of information. This year's foundling is British Leyland's first new Rover sedan in 13 years. So says Simon Pearson of his time at the much-maligned British Leyland. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. The spokesman at the Land Rover plant in Solihull: We do not condone sleeping or dozing in working hours.. 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? Permanent Salary: 27,043 - 33,453pa; Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00-17:00 Friday 09:00 - 14:00; Person Specification The Government should also be enthusiastic. 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. Leylands future was assured over the next two decades through reluctant government financial support, the new Mini Metro model and a joint venture with Honda. 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. RM 2J0F074 - British Leyland Wives of Strikers, in London, 24th January 1978. Leyland Dozers Sacked. We will write a custom Article on Absenteeism at British Leyland specifically for you. This has not happened easily and Black and Asian people have often had to fight for their rights. The paint turned dull and flat quite quickly. No mention was made of any disciplinary action against the workers. Kearsley has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the cars, down to the colour names and options, combined with a strong urge to save these underdogs. By Business Ideas UK October 31, 2017. One of the most notorious trade unionists in recent memory has died aged 90. Furthermore most of their fathers, uncles, etc. 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 . Enter your username or email to reset your password. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Mr Stevenson, a former union official from Coventry, said Mr Robinson held the position during a time when more than 18,000 jobs disappeared at the company, plants closed and car production fell. As Glenns said, even the Princess and its older stable mates were not bad at all by the end. 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. Absenteeism is simply defined as an individual's frequent pattern of evasion from an obligation or duty. On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. If workers were rushing to finish off their quota so they could go home early and doing half a job, would it not have made more sense to slow down the line to get the job properly? BL described this as potentially dangerous. We had a LDV van at work for about 7 years. The behavior of absenteeism is normally evidenced in work places where some workers may decide to make absenteeism their habit. That was not the responsibility of the employees, that was not the responsibility of the workforce. 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. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. "He is quoted as saying: 'If we make Leyland successful, it will be a political victory. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. I had a bright orange one as my company car a year before anyone had one over here, says Greenhill. Bits of hardware still running off BBC B computers..! 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. 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. People were not being properly paid and rewarded so they got together and formed their own alliance. Right ) from 1984 underlines that and rewarded so they got together and formed their own alliance # ;! 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