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From Militant, No. 702, 1 June 1984, p. 14.
Transcribed by Iain Dalton.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Encyclopaedia of Trotskyism On-Line (ETOL).
THE DREAM of providing thousands of jobs in West Lothian with the opening of the British Leyland (BL) plant in Bathgate was transformed into a nightmare both for the 1,800 remaining workforce and the future of the community, with the announcement on Tuesday 22 of the closure of the plant.
The Scottish TUC has set up a steering committee to look at the
situation. This could be used to take the opportunity to link up the
fight to save BL with the fight to save the pits. It is an urgent
task.
“Industrial genocide” was the way one worker described the proposed closure. He was right, but the social consequences in an area already ravaged with 20% unemployment would also be devastating.
If the plant closes, the surrounding towns of Bathgate, Armadale,
Blackburn, indeed the whole of West Lothian would be transformed from
a once thriving community into a waste land.
One senior shop steward outlined the run-down of the Bathgate plant:
“In 1978 we had 6,000 men but due to redundancies – 3–400 at a time we now only have 1,800 left – that is shop floor workers and staff together. They have issued us 90 days’ notice, with 516 men being paid off on 20 August.
“They are going to transfer actual buildings to the Albion from September 1984 to March 1985, meaning another 3–400 men on the dole, then they intend to close us in 1986. We are all very angry and we are solid, we are fighting for the community, if BL goes West Lothian dies.”
Another senior shop steward told me:
“We are fighting for Scotland’s industrial base, we
are the last vehicle manufacturing plant in Scotland, they are not
closing us because of markets but because they have moved their
models down south. They have moved the tractors to Marshalls of
Gainsborough, cars to Motor Panels, Coventry, replacement vans to
Freight Power and six or seven models to BL in Lancashire – that’s
the problem.”
“We had an excellent response from the men on the shop floor and once they had decided to take action the staff decided the same – we are fighting.”
The fight is now clearly on, it is vital that the BL workers now link up with other local struggles. The proposed closure of Ravenscraig steelworks in 1986 means also the closure of Polkemmet. The fight for coal is already on. It is clear that the fight is now a joint one, it is a fight for jobs – yes, for an industrial base – yes, but also a fight for every community in West Lothian.
Messages of support to: Jimmy Swann, convenor, JSSC British Leyland, Bathgate, West Lothian. Donations to: Joint Action Committee, West Lothian District Council, Southbridge Street, Bathgate, West Lothian.
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Last updated: 6 November 2016