ON 27 SEPTEMBER this year Sir Richard Dobson, the chairperson of the addressed the Twenty Club at the Dorchester Hotel in London. The Twenty Club is made up of the bosses of Britain's largest family retail businesses, whose workers are among the lowest paid in the country. The Birmingham told speech.
This is what Tom Litterick, Socialist chairperson of the meeting was a Mr.
R.W. Burgess, a director of British Home Stores. Dobson's theme for the evening was Ten Years of Change in British Society'. Socialist Challenge has obtained a tape recording of Dobson's We make the contents of this speech public in a woek when the workers at bara Castle appearMole praises references to the Grunwick workBritish Leyland are heing threatened by the Labour Government, management, and the National Enterprise Board. They are being told they must accept a further cut in their living standards by abiding by the 10 percent guideline.
They are being threatened with redundancy through the decentralisation" of British Leyland. They are told that they must accept all this in the national interest' Dobson's speech, made in private after dinner in a specially reserved suite in the Dorchester, makes it abundantly clear what the real interests of the Leyland bosses are.
Dobson is virulently anti-union. He is a racist, a sexist and a reactionary through and through. The ruling class's media have time and again screamed allacks al the workers in British Leyland. Let them now turn their attention to Sir Richard Dobson. He is the real Leyland scandal.
Even in his public utterances, Dobson has found it difficult to hide his hatred of working people. He has cheerfully admitted that he is a Tory and a champion of private enterprise. But what he says when talking to a group of reactionary bedfellows in the closed contines of the plush Dorchester Hotel goes way beyond that. Yet ironically one of the major themes of Dobson's speech was "hypocrisy" which, he said. "really had a grip over the last ten years", Quoting examples he went on:
'Let us take crime and punishment particulurly capital punishment — race relutions, foreign policy. In particular, wicked South Africans, Brazileans, Chileans and Greeks, compared to the lovable old Resians, the Cubans and the down-trodden African guerrillas and all that stuff.
Then came the gem:
*Who would have expected the Daily Mail to have the bloods nerve to bribe somebody £15,000 to reveal the documents — which turned out to be Forged - In order to accuse the company of the perfectly respectable fact that it was bribing wogs?' LAUGHTER This remark was followed by an outburst of laughter from the assembled audience. For them, as for Dobson bribing was perfectly respectable', maholity to handle who've been renders Governments Labour positions of Leyland especially if the bribes were directed towards "wogs". The wogs' in this case being a reference to the Arabs, Dobson was probably unaware of the fact that it is they who now own the Dorchester! Dobson's racism was not confined to this remark. Here are his thoughts on the Grunwick strike:
"You can't tell me that the ordinary British worker & passionately concerned that a number of blackish people in North London are being underpaid.
Quoting the findings of the Scarman inquiry that George Ward was anti-union, sion:
CALLAGHAN: If you could run fastest you weethere/crea/eader I JUST GET THEM A KNIGHTHOOD. WHAT DO AFTER THAT BUSINESS worth asking.
Dobson offered this conchimustn't forget When Socialist Cheffenge show LUE SECURICA! of Dobson's speech to Leyland workers over RELATE LIE common re action was one of disgust and BUSCI workers at Kover Solshull in Birmingham had thia 10 SA5 Ken Allen, shop steward: "The reference he black people b hotonily racist. The man is on nut and out reuctionary who is completely opposed to the trade union movemest. These type of remarks should only be found in a Nutional Front publicution. He should be sacked immediately.
Jemy Corway, TOWU shop steward:
Dohsoe doesn't know what he's talking about. He taiks like an pursider nothing abour the industry' THEY Would the position of the Uk in the world market be better or worse if the unions hadn't multiplied? In fact have the unions benefitled their menshers ai all? Or have they la fact done tota dumage in the last decade? I think it's There is little doubt which answer Sir Richard would give to that question He has said in public that be is a Tory and although he was given the job it Leyland by a Labour Cabinet. he see no need to return the compliment. He had this to say on Callaghan's opposition to 'In Place of Strife":
BARBARACASTLE By the Ente 1960s there was growing feeling in the country that the trade unions were gerting too bloody big for their boots. They were gelting all together too powerful, not only for themselves but for their own members Now Harbura Castle, who's not everybody's idea of a pin-up or heroine, we that she did lead the fight under the heading In Place of Strife", in an attempt to curb the power of the unions.
Well it got a bit hot, and Mr. Callughun turned and ran. It's not the first time in our history that it wa thought that if you could run fastest you were therefore a leader ever direction you happened to be running in ut the time.
Eddie Sqmires, Deputy Steward, TGWU: *Dobson i aguinst nac ation, against the trade u and he's a racist. He shou hicked one inhahe she the "SHOCKED"
Brian Bird, TGWU sho ward and a local Enhour co Tam shocked and amaced speech and it gives grea for concen Jor the pur This is typical kind of managemens we a sider from ar plant leme government should lan ponediate insertigation Peopie, Twilf organie a n cu Labour ME in the R ham area and demand enguery into Lesland a
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THE LEYLAND WORKERS REPLY: