800 To End Car Body Strike

Home News
FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT
BIRMINGHAM, FEB. 2

One of the three strikes that have paralysed much of the Midland car industry was settled today. The 800 vehicle builders who stopped work on Friday at the Birmingham factory of Mulliners, Ltd., part of Standard- Triumph International, decided to resume work tomorrow. This will allow production to be resumed at Standard's Coventry factory where 4,000 workers have been laid off.
The strike of 55 electricians at a branch factory of the British Motor Corporation which has halted car production at Austin's and crippled output throughout the rest of the group continues.

So does the strike of sheet metal workers at the Coventry factory of the Rover Co., Ltd., which has stopped Land-Rover production at the firm's Solihull factory.

TALKS WITH FIRM
After the men on strike at Mulliners had decided to return to work, Mr G. Evans, Birnlingham organizer of the National Union of Vehicle Builders, said a conference would be held with the management tomorrow to resolve outstanding difficulties.
The number of B.M.C. employees made idle by the electricians' strike at the tractor and transmission branch. Washwood Heath, is likely to rise to 32,000 tomorrow.

The management said that production of the 1-5 litre range had ended today at Cowley and the Morris Minor line would stop there tomorrow morning. This will cause 2,000 workers to be laid off at the Nuffield Metal Products factory, Birmingham. It is also expected that 4,000 men engaged on engme production at the Austin factory, Longbridge, will be laid off tomorrow, bringing the number idle there to 18,000. The B.M.C. today described pay offers which were made to the electricians and said they felt these were " more than adequate."

At Morris Motors, Llanelli , nearly 300 workers decided yesterday to walk out in sympathy with the 120 men of the polishing department who stopped work a week ago over piece-rates. The original strikers have rejected union advice to return.