FOCUS Marxism Today June 1980 3

TALBOT — A NEW NAME IN few months before. However, it is un­ management harassment was raised in the ANTI-COMMUNISM doubtedly management that has been setting French parliament. Peugeot maintains an Since the takeover by PSA Peugeot-Citroen the pace in proposals for a new corporate individual file on each employee, based on in August 1978 of Chrysler's European bargaining structure, which must follow interviews and other information. Marks are operations, including Chrysler UK, there has from the move to parity. It will take a real given on a one to five scale under ten been relatively little publicity in the British organisational effort for the trade unions to headings: adaptability, punctuality and media about the plans of Europe's new top overcome the sectional and inter-plant reliability, respect for equipment and motor multinational. While all eyes have rivalries, and to develop a system of materials, state of mind and general attitude, been on British Leyland, what has George company-wide representation that is security, availability, initiative, sociability, Turnbull, the ex-Leyland manager accountable and responsive to workers across quality of work and rapidity of work. For appointed by PSA to run its British the company. instance, under 'availability' a person who operation, been planning for the newly- It was during the 1979 strike that Turnbull refuses changes in working hours scores only named Talbot UK? laid the foundations of a new Company 1 out of 5, while a person willing to volunteer Talbot management's attitude to trade Briefing system. Two thousand managers for anything including being called from unionism shows significant similarities to and supervisors were put through courses in home gets 5. Transfers and promotion are BL's. Undoubtedly their aim has been to communication and hundreds of thousands based on your points score. Peugeot and undermine the shop-steward system. Their of pounds spent in developing a company- Citroen are both hostile to independent trade first step was to offer a mere 5% across-the- wide propaganda system. The intention is to unionism, and Citroen management in board pay increase in 1979, combined with a pass information down a military-style chain particular has a long history of backing the new company-wide grading scheme, this was of command, by-passing the shop-steward neofascist Yellow union, renamed the CSL sweetened by the offer of parity with structure. The assembly tracks are even after the murder of a CGT militant in Reims Coventry wages for the Scottish workers at stopped for a full half-hour so that all workers in 1977. Lin wood, plus increased overtime and shift can attend the briefings. Stoke shop stewards Management's aim in undermining the premia, which also benefitted Linwood. This felt that this involved an indirect attack on unions is clearly to enforce that the workforce effectively split the Combine, with the stewards and advised members that attend­ accept whatever plans are put forward as part Coventry workers at Ryton and Stoke bravely ance was voluntary; but the company docked of the group's restructuring. PSA likes to talk going into a difficult strike (half the Stoke non-attenders half-hour's pay; the issue is not grandly of their 10-year 'rationalisation' plan, workers had not worked more than a couple yet resolved. while keeping the details quiet, supposedly of full weeks in the first 6 months of 1979). While Turnbull may be getting his advice not to alert their competitors. In fact, in After 14 weeks they were forced to go back on on 'communications' from friends at the common with most car firms, they have been a minor productivity concession. Almost Industrial Society, he is getting his forming a network of inter-company finks, immediately the Company cynically perspectives and a lot of encouragement from hedging as many bets as they can in the face of announced the closure of Linwoods's second the French managers he meets regularly each the uncertainties of the continuing world shift, involving 1200 redundancies and week. Peugeot's industrial relations methods capitalist crisis. Should US finance capital higher targets for the remaining shift. This have received a lot of publicity in France decide to go through with the Chrysler brought home the lesson of the need for unity recently, following the suicide of a young rescue, PSA is ready to go into some joint at combine level, and the Stoke stewards CGT delegate to the giant Sochaux plant's projects with Chrysler, and thereby will be quickly rejoined the combine they had left a Works Council. Evidence of constant linked also to Mitsubishi, Chrysler's 4 June 1980 Marxism Today FOCUS

Japanese ally. PSA are also negotiating a engine will be developed for the group as a Peugeot engines, and will be launched on that technical and licensing deal with Nissan to whole, so that each model can be offered in a basis. This trend must mean the rundown or help their exports to Japan. In Europe they range of variants. Production of such shutdown of independent production are linked even to their arch-rivals Renault, common components will be pumped, while capacity for engine, gearbox, foundry and as well as Volvo, in the jointly-owned others can be closed down. Some of this mechanical parts production at the Stoke and Douvrin engine plant. They have strong links investment is being supplied by the French Lin wood plants, as well as related suppliers, with Matra, and arrangements for produc­ government, as part of the scheme to create with the consequent loss of thousands of jobs. tion of speciality cars and vans with Matra, jobs in northern and eastern France, PSA's refusal to put any new investment Chausson, Pininfarina and Lotus. On the following the steel closures and subsequent into the UK operation has merely continued commercial vehicle side they are establishing riots. But the French unions are well aware Chrysler's policy of milking dry the assets joint production plans with DAF Truck, that these subsidies are being given under acquired from Rootes. The company's which is 33.3 owned by the giant Inter­ false pretences: as this investment financial position is still crucially dependent national Harvester, which itself owns programme proceeds, PSA will be reducing on the Iran contract originally negotiated by Seddon-Atkinson in the UK. not increasing employment overall, even in Rootes, under which the aged Hunter is What will actually survive of all these France, by closing down other plants, mainly exported in kit form. Even this is now castles in the sand will depend largely on the in the Paris region. threatened by the Thatcher government's effects of this year's expected downward The effect on Talbot UK would be to blind and servile backing of US sanctions lurch of the car market, as part of the general reduce it to a disposable module in the PSA against Iran. This would mean 2,000 depression, and on whether the hoped-for structure. Inevitably, the UK assembly immediate layoffs in Coventry, with a spread revival takes place in 1981-4. PSA's plan is to plants will be duplicating models produced in effect in related suppliers of maybe twice that use the scope for rationalisation offered by France and Spain, with a sharply reduced number. Should Iran retaliate by cutting off the possibilities for integration resulting from local content. The successful Alpine and all links with Talbot and buying car kits or a their takeover of Talbot. PSA bosses have Horizon models were designed in Coventry model for local production on the stated in newspaper interviews that of the 45 but produced almost entirely on the increasingly cut-throat world car market, this plants in the group 20 might be expected to Continent. The 'notchback' variant of the could prove the death-knell for Talbot UK. It close in the next few years. Alpine, launched in May as the Solara, was could become a mere assembler of cars with less local content than is permitted by many They intend to do this by integrating the originally intended to be produced only at developing countries. model range within the whole group and Ryton for the whole European market, but developing the standardisation of compo­ PSA decided last year to produce it also at nents across Peugeot-Citroen-Talbot models. Poissy. A new 2-litre designed in Coventry Contributors: For instance, different types and capacities of was delayed by PSA for redesigning to take Celine Whittleton, Sol Piccioto