New dispute as car plant talks begin

THE GUARDIAN
NEW DISPUTE AS CAR PLANT TALKS BEGIN
By Geoffrey Whitely

Three separate sets of negotiations opened yesterday at Triumph car plants in Coventry and on Merseyside in an attempt to settle the labour troubles which stopped production for two weeks. Car output resumed at the Coventry plants to enable talks to open on a pay dispute involving 45 workers in the control room, whose stoppages made nearly 5,000 other employees idle.

Almost immediately the management was presented with a fresh dispute. Some of the workers made idle by the dispute claimed lay-off pay for the period when they had been unable to work. Although the claim appeared to fall outside the company's agreement with the unions , which says that there can be no lay-off pay for workers made idle by a dispute in their own plant , the management agreed to negotiate.

Meanwhile, the Triumph management on Merseyside began talks with leaders of paint-shop workers at the Speke factory who have been on strike over a manning dispute. About 3,000 workers have been idle at the plant because of the disputes disputes there and at Coventry. Another 250 workers have been laid off at the company's car body factory in Birmingham.