The odd 1m going missing (I would have paid money to see the auditors face when they found that little gem), contractors doing nothing for weeks at 100 a day because the bloke who set the administration lock password buggered off for sunnier climes without telling anyone what it was. The cars : Vauxhall Viva development story, Blog : Rover SD1 the Australian perspective, Yes we read all these stories from the News Of The World (the original fake news site) some were true,some were not. 1990s Vauxhalls seemed to have red paint that faded quickly, so most surviving ones look more pink than red these days. Derek 'Red Robbo' Robinson led a long-running battle against management at the British Leyland plant in Longbridge throughout the 1970s. Mr Robinson was involved in an estimated 500 disputes at Longbridge. Email Print. Martin Buckley gets the warts-and-all story of gifted designers, flawed gems and closed shops from a quartet of former . . British Leyland, Britain's largest automaker, faced bankruptcy in 1975. Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Read about our approach to external linking. The Musicians Union, which was the union for musicians employed directly by the BBC, dictated that Top of the Pops had to employ a staff orchestra and singers, even if their services werent needed, which in most cases they were not. 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. He was in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. Be the first to rate this post. Your email address will not be published. Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection: Visit for a family celebration - Read 1,173 reviews, view 382 traveller photos, and find great deals for Preston Leyland Hotel, BW Signature Collection at Tripadvisor. In 1981 BL entered into a joint venture with Honda Motor Company, Ltd., of Japan to produce Japanese-designed Triumph Acclaims in the United Kingdom. Opinion : Derek Robinson: Victim or villain? Mr Robinson . 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. Seven years ago Tony Cliff wrote, 'The aim of the . He was a controversial figure throughout his lifetime but Derek Robinson remains a working class hero to many. Currently he owns a Jaguar and two classic Minis. 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. The company remained a ward of the state for 13 years. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Then, on 16 November 1979, another BL plant was in the news for similar reasons. 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 consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. We are looking for a Children's Residential Support Worker to join an outstanding Children's Home. A spokesman said that they would Mr Arthur Scargill yesterday pledged the support of Yorkshire miners for the reinstatement of Mr Derek Robinson the shop stewards' By Edward Townsend BL's controversial 2m "Buy British" campaign, initially aimed at new car buyers, has now been directed at dealers. BL has delayed implementation of its plans for the MG factory at Abingdon in Oxfordshire because of a probable offer from the consortium. What's the best type of insurance for my 30+ year old Volvo? Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. In the morning when they woke up they had large banging on the door it was the police. DeSantis won't say he's running. A quote from Austin Rover Managing Director Harold Musgrove (right) from 1984 underlines that. The men at Drews Lane had worked to rule for several weeks in protest at management attempts to stop them leaving early. But the car giant had been hit hard by post-war economic struggles and had developed a reputation for producing low-quality cars. From Our Correspondent Birmingham. Manage Settings He described him as "a loud-mouth who thought he had the support of the workers". This has not happened easily and Black and Asian people have often had to fight for their rights. The measured day rate replaced piece work at around 1970-1974 IIRC. Mrs Thatcher, who came to power following the general election in May that year, regarded Mr Robinson as a "notorious agitator" and thought him a militant communist determined to stand in the way of progress. 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? In the 1980s and 90s, Mr Robinson worked as a tutor in trade union studies, teaching shop stewards. He was sitting opposite Mr Robinson when the union convenor was finally dismissed. "But they are going to appeal against the decision. In this occasional series Ian Nichollsrevisits some of these stories, using the newspaper articles of the time as the main source of information. for only $11.00 $9.35/page. Belated attempts to set up acceptable new output targets had been resisted by the Shop Stewards. 2023 BBC. Mr John Shayler, plant protection manager, said that at dawn on, June 14 he had seen a day-shift worker come in to their factory and knock on the door of the foremens office. The great BL adventure started promisingly, as Tim Greenhill points out: When I began as an apprentice, the 1100/1300 had 15% of the UK market and BMC overall had 30%: when it joined Leyland, Rover and Jaguar, it had 60%!, In fact, there was never a problem selling Rovers, Jaguars or Triumphs, which didnt have the image problems of the more strategically important family models. My god it was awful, it was bought . 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. He added that communists active in Unite "mourned the loss of their most distinguished veteran, a mentor and guide to us all". The director believes Mr Robinson was "betrayed" by a union leadership with whom he had a thorny relationship. We ask Birmingham: How can bus services improve in the city? Mr Robinson, one of the most famous trade unionists of the 1970s, was dubbed Red Robbo by the media. Location: Leyland, Lancashire. Had a nice blue pearlescent paint that never matched properly, sold it with the bodged paintwork at a loss. Video, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. As a young man, his first job was selling the newly launched Maestro at a BL dealership in his native Cumbria. By Chris Hampson. 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. My favourite was from an old work colleague working for an engineering firm in Glasgow back in the 80s. 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. The sleeping on the night shift story went quiet until the New Year of 1980. 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". AROnline Keith Adams 2001-2022 - please refer to the 'Terms of use' pages. Williams Lyons. leader of the unofficial BL shop stewards' committee. Where can you get quick classic car insurance quotes? One of the most notorious trade unionists in recent memory has died aged 90. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Slight wear at extremities of boards. Born in Bedfordshire but now residing in Norfolk, Ian Nicholls is an ardent BL enthusiast. 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 in charge of 32 men on the night shift who were dismissed, disciplined, or 'who resigned rather than be dismissed. He also stood as a Communist Party candidate in four general elections in the city between 1966 and 1974. Modified date: August 5, 2017. Read about our approach to external linking. Pay and Contract. Only three men, none of them Mr Yates, had gone to the clocking point before 6.45 am, the end of the shift. Even today, there are certain professions where . On 10 January 1980 night-shift workers were given a wake-up warning by British Leyland management. In this article DAVE LYDDON analyses the forces at work in British Leyland. 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. This year's foundling is British Leyland's first new Rover sedan in 13 years. 1983 Cowley Moles. 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. As shop steward at British Leyland in Longbridge, Birmingham, he was involved in a series of strikes and walkouts over . Ideal business/holiday rental Perfect for families, friends and work colleagues (a pet friendly home) The cottage is an attractive Grade ll listed property recently totally refurbished to a high standard maintaining its character and charm, an unusual build with Venetian type windows and a . 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. Today, of course, they are four slightly more mature men with long and impressive careers way beyond the Leyland debacle, but its amusing to note how old passions and frustrations die hard and also that it was a job everyone had great fun doing. "He's to be hugely respected.". Initially, the workers came out in support of Mr Robinson, he said. "I can sleep sound at night because I never betrayed the workers I was elected to represent," he said. A plan by the unions to fight for a mass-volume car manufacturing was truncated when Robinson was sacked by British Leyland in November 1979. DeSantis won't say he's running. Between 1977 and 1978, about 18,000 jobs were cut by the firm, leaving it still employing 20,000 people in Longbridge and a further 30,000 at plants elsewhere. 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. Over the years, my father's garage has become an elephant's graveyard of corroded metal, faded wiring diagrams, desiccated gaskets and other relics of a lifetime of Land Rover ownership. It was a fantastic shape but, when I parked it, nobody looked at it. Whatexactly happened and whenare not easy to decipher. I will leave the last word to Pearson, the man who got this fascinating group together: We all worked like hell to make it work, for not much money. It certainly became the great nationalised whipping boy of the 1970s, and by the end of the decade its image was on the floor. Back in 2011, I visited a fair-sized barn in North Yorkshire full of Maestros, Montegos and the odd Metro. Mr Yates, of Coplow Close, Balsall Common, Warwickshire, claims that he was unfairly dismissed. It needs to be left alone. 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 . Michael Edwardes, who has died aged 88, was the chair of the car giant British Leyland during the critical period of the company's transformation from 1977 to 1982. Its just a shame that for a lot of the 70s they were rightly derided for their quality. The plant . When I asked, What happened? I was told Well, theyve finished their stint. In fact, some had finished by one oclock. These were blamed by managers for delays to production of 62,000 cars and 113,000 engines, costing the business an estimated 200m. 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. 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. Mr Alan Walters, a supervisor, said he had seen another man come from the office carrying a Land-Rover seat capable of being used as a bed. 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. The former British Leyland worker and trade unionist Derek Robinson has died, aged 90. Not just the NHS government in general! "But they are going to appeal against the decision. BL began selling its interests in the 1980s, and by 1990 the Ford Motor . 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.. They had begun a policy of non-cooperation following the managements moves to stop workers leaving before the shift was completed. This British Leyland collection is diverse, huge and full of interest. Mr Robinson was among those trade unionists soon to lose their grip on power. Security officers kept watch from behind an extractor fan in a paint shop from where they could see a clocking point. 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