Strike May Stop Car Factories

Two thousand workers who are on unofficial strike at the Smith's motor accessories factory at Cricklewood, Middlesex, were yesterday ordered by their two unions to return to work immediately.

At the same time, Standard Triumph International announced that. as a result of the strike, overtime had been banned at their Coventry factory, and the British Motor Corporation gave warning that unless there was a settlement, laying-off of workpeople, starting at the Birmingham Austin factory, would begin today. The go-back instructions to the 2,000 men-who have been on strike since Tuesday over a pay claim-came from the Amalgamated Engineering Union and the General and Municipal Workers' Union.

B.M.C. said in a statement yesterday: "We have been making cars without the fittings from Smith's, but there is a limit to the number of partly completed cars we can park at the factories. In any case, the fitting of the components after the cars have come off the assembly lines puts up costs considerably."