IF IT is possible to pinpoint one occasion in the past five years when the victimisation of Derek Robiuson became a dot on the horizon, it was » time paradoxically compliance with management wishes was never more complete.
That date was 1 February 1978. The place, Kenilworth, meeting of 650 trade union representatives and management from four months after Michael Edwardes had been appointed as the new Leyland boss.
The Kenilworth meeting was the first real opportunity Edwardes had to explain his strategy for managing Leyland. seven-point resolution to the meeting, involved — among other things 12,500 jobs through redundancy programmes, plant closures, some combination of these' On the day of the meeting, Derek Robinson, writing in the Morning Star, called on the labour movement to 'close ranks, unite and fight the plan to carve up Leyland' itself Robinson, together with the vast majonty of the other stewards present, voted acceptance of this, the first Edwardes The next day, the Morning Star declared it would have been "irresponsible to vote against'. Job loss that meeting Edwardes has never Looked presided over a 20,000 job loss in the past two ycals, promised 25,000 more redundancies, although and his most recent 'survival plan' has when Robinson's Warwickshire. The event, British Leyland. This waS He put forward which - the loss of 'natural and but at the meeting "survival' plan.
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