Friday Night Strikes At Birmingham End

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
BIRMINGHAM, Oct. 2

The Friday night strikes at British Motor Corporation factories in Birmingham ended yesterday, exactly six months after they began. Originally 3,300 workers at three of the group's Birmingham factories had been banning night shift working on Fridays, but gradually there had been a return to work until only 600 vehicle-builders at the Fisher and Ludlow body-building factory at Erdington were still holding out. They agreed at a meeting yesterday to resume normal working so that local negotiations can begin on a four-night week.

The trouble started with the introduction of the 42-hour week in the engineering industry. The men objected to spreading this over four nights of nine and a half hours, with a short shift on Friday night, and claimed it could be spread over 10-5 hours each night from Monday to Thurs- day. It is now understood that negotiations will be started for a four-night shift of nine and a half hours each night. The management estimate that in the six months the strikes have resulted in a loss of production of £5m worth of vehicles.