British Leyland recalls Coventry workers, but sends them home when pay talks fail

By R. W. Shakespeare

Within hours of recalling 5,000 workers laid-off from the British Leyland Triumph car plant in Coventry Yesterday the management had to send them home again for an indefinite period.

In all more than 8,250 workers are now laid off at the Coventry plant, at the Triumph car plant in Liverpool and at the body pressing factory in Birmingham. All car production has been at a standstill for eight working days and output losses total some 4,000 cars.

British Leyland recalled the Coventry workers yesterday morning in the hope that fresh negotiations would lead to a settlement of the strike by control room workers. Only 12 men are directly involved in a dispute over pay demands, but another 30 workers on associated jobs have stopped work. After talks between management and union representatives a British Leyland spokesman said: "There is no settlement, The control room workers are still on strike and we have had to lay off the rest of the labour force again."

He said the number of lay-offs at the Liverpool plant had risen from 1,100 to more than 3,000.