Hopes of peace at car plant

THE GUARDIAN

There were hopes last night of an end today to the strike of 500 foremen in a "blacklegging" dispute with a car factory management in Birmingham. National officers of the Association of Scientific, Technical and Management Staffs had long talks today with the management of Pressed Steel-Fisher at Castle Bromwich. Afterwards, the company said that a formula would be put to the strikers today.

The foremen walked out last Friday, saying that senior management had done their jobs during a 24-hour pay strike
Production of several models, was halted and more than 5,000 workers laid off during a day of disruption in the Midlands car industry yesterday.

At the Austin factory, Longbridge, assembly of Mini cars and 1800 car bodies stopped because of the foremen's strike. A return to work by 700 strikers at the Pressed Steel-Fisher factory in Llanelli came too late to prevent a shut-down of 1100 production on the day shift at Longbridge, and the night shift at Morris Motors, Oxford. Also at Oxford, 1300 car output was halted by a shortage of engines from Longbridge in the wake of a strike by seven women now working normally at the Birmingham Aluminium Castings factory in Smethwick.

More than 400 vehicle inspectors were involved in a one-day stoppage at the Leyland plant of British-Leyland. They claimed that the dispute was partly due to a new system of inspection.