Marina workers on strike

Production of British Leyland's new Morris Marina car was still halted last night following another walkout at Cowley, Oxford, by the 80 maintenance workers who had ended a five-day strike only two hours earlier. The men reported for work as normal yesterday morning but refused to start because they claimed that foremen had carried out maintenance duties during the weekend. They said the foremen had removed some car bodies from paint hardening ovens.

Although it was pointed out that this was an emergency measure to prevent the paint being "over cooked" the maintenance fitters and their mates told the management that they were staging a 24-hour protest strike. As a result the company laid off 1,700 of the assembly workers who had been recalled in. anticipation of a normal restart on the Marina and 1100/1300 lines.

Only Maxi production was resumed.