Threat to Jap lorries
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
NORTH WEST England commercial vehicle assembly workers may impose unilateral action against Japanese lorry imports if they do not gain national support.
Leyland shop stewards' convenor Dave Hewitt has said they will give the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions and the Government time to consider "blacking action", but would adopt anti-Japanese measures if it appears that they are "dragging their feet".
A confederation spokesman told CM this week that they intended to meet Industry Secretary Eric Varley to establish the facts behind potential importers' plans, and would decide then whether a meeting should be convened to decide on action to be taken.
He added: "Ail we can go on just now is press speculation, and we want to know the facts from Mr Varley."
The main threat seen both by unions and manufacturers in the North West comes from Dublin-based J. Harris (Assemblers) Ltd which has captured a large share of the Irish market with its locally assembled Hino vehicles.
Harris, which was dropped by Leyland over 10 years ago as an assembler of Guy Big J vehicles, proposes to build an assembly centre on Merseyside. This could absorb many of the former British Leyland workers from the Speake car factory which closed this year.
Mitsubishi is interested in building light commercials at a South Wales site, while Vauxhall has been linked with rumours of plans to import Isuzo pickups from Japan.
Isuzo is part-owned by General Motors, but Vauxhall has denied that it has any such plans.
The stewards' action leaves the confederation with a dilemma, as any Japanese plarls are certain to centre on development areas in which there is heavy unemployment.
And the addition of Chrysler's unhappy Linwood car plant in Scotland to the list of potential Japanese assembly sites in the event of PeugeotCitroen closing it down can only heighten the problem.