have laughed all the way back to Chicago.
But why the sudden about-face in Government industrial policy? Only a few days before, Industry Secretary Eric Varley had told the 1,600 workers occupying the Norton Villiers Triumph plant at Wolverhampton to end their sit-in and take their place in the dole queue. But two things were uppermost in the Government's thinking: the adverse effect of Chrysler's closure on the next, even tougher, pay deal with the TUC; and the certain loss of Scotland to the Nationalists if the Linwood plant closed.
Secret
In a secret document presented to Varley before the rescue plan was announced, Chrysler shop stewards demanded nationalisation without compensation to defend the right to work. The document continued: Any national government taking on a multinational like Chrysler must have the will to take it into effective control and then to plan it in the interests of social coutrements.
Now Chrysler workers must launch an all-out fight for these demands to protect all jobs. the problem with the stewards' proposals is that while they present Amid the row surrounding the Government's £200 million 'rescue' of Chrysler UK, little has been said about one thing - at least 9,000 jobs are still to go. The Government's operation is precisely a rescue of Chrysler UK — not jobs. The American multinational is getting a hand-out of £200 million and guarantees against future losses in return for nothing. Ricardo must an alternative, workers' future for Chrysler, they simply demand the Government implements it without detailing how the workers themselves can prepare nationalisation to guarantee their jobs, working conditions and living standards.
Frozen Out The dangers involved in this are great. Alongside the Chrysler rescue last week, British Leyland management announced a four-month freeze on capital spending. ment-sponsored investment strike is an open threat to Leyland workers that the next instalment of the Government's £1.4 billion investment programme won't go ahead unless productivity is increased by 40 per cent in engine manufacturing and 50 percent in car assembly. Productivity To reach the sort of productivity levels envisaged by Ryder, around 40,000 jobs will have to go. No wonder the Ryder Report commented that the most crucial factor' in increasing productivity at BL would be significant progress towards industrial democracy and a "new spirit of reasonable cooperation' from the trade unions. No doubt Chrysler workers will be offered some version of worker participation in joint committees in speed-up as well.
terms of the Government rescue, and launch mass factory occupations to enforce their demand for tion.
In British Leyland the fight against the implementation of the Ryder Report - rejected so far by the Triumph Assembly plant at Canley and the Rover Solihull shop stewards -this fight suffered a setback last week when arch-collaborator Reg Parsons retained the senior steward's post in elections at the Cowley Assembly plant.
This GovernChrysler workers must reject the nationalisation without compensamust continue, although CROUF