Dispute at Leyland halts Rover output

THE GUARDIAN
By GEOFFREY WHITELEY, Labour Staff

Welders at a Birmingham factory, whose strike has stopped production of the British Leyland Land-Rover yesterday rejected an agreement made by their union leaders because it could mean the loss of overtime working. They voted to continue the strike for at least another two weeks. The stoppage by 250 men – at a British Leyland factory which makes chassis units for Land-Rover – has so far resulted in more than 600 other workers, most of them at the Land-Rover works at Solihull, being laid off.

This number is now likely to rise and as many as 3,000 workers could be made idle. The strikers, like most other British Leyland workers in the Midlands, are to begin a week's holiday tonight, but they will continue the strike when they return. The dispute began when British Leyland reached an agreement with two unions – the boilermakers and the sheet metal workers – which represent the welders, under which systematic overtime working would be gradually eliminated and the 40-hour week restored.