Thousands join strikes over non-strikers

THE GUARDIAN
THOUSANDS JOIN STRIKES OVER NON-STRIKERS
Jaguar men vote to stay out

Refusal by managements either to sack or suspend men who worked during Monday 's national engineering strike resulted in more factories closing yesterday.

At Jaguar 's Coventry factory 4,500 production workers held a mass meeting and accepted a shop steward's advice to stay out until the firm dismisses two union men who worked on Monday.

Threat to exports

The next meeting of the strikers has been announced for Tuesday, which means that even if the men decided to return to work then it would be impossible to resume full production until the following day. Jaguar's would thus have lost six days' production : the equivalent of about 650 to 700 cars. An American export order worth £22.5 millions, carries cancellation clauses if delivery is not made within a year of its placing at the Motor Show.

A spokesman for the company said: "We are not in a position to dismiss these two men. What have they done against the company? This is a domestic matter for the union concerned and a settlement of this issue lies entirely in their hands. Today's decision at the mass meeting constituted the first request for the dismissal of the men that has been made to the management."