£4 rise averts car closure
9 July 1970
    THE GUARDIAN
A total shutdown of the car industry was averted yesterday when the 650 strikers at Lucas, Birmingham, voted to accept a £4 a week offer from the management, and returned to work. It is expected to take about a week to restore normal supplies of electrical parts.
A spokesman for British Leyland, which has been stockpiling thousands of unfinished vehicles at Longbridge, said the threat of dislocation would continue until sufficient parts had arrived to produce complete cars. Jaguar, which stopped output at Coventry a week ago, is to restart production, is to restart production on Wednesday with a progressive return to work of 1,500 employees who have been laid off. The firm expects to be back to normal on Thursday. It will have lost 1,600 cars worth £3 million.
Rover is resuming normal production at Solihull, Warwickshire, today but will be building cars without certain electrical components. The situation is to be reviewed tomorrow.
 
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