Deadlock on delivery strike
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From a special correspondent
THE five-week-old strike of car delivery dril
which is crippling the movement of new from the Austin factory at Longbridge, Birm ham, may continue for some weeks yet.
Two hours of talks last week between of& of the Ministry of Labour, representatives oi Longbridge group of delivery agents and Tr port and General Workers' Union offii failed to raise any hope of a settlement.
An official strike was called when the ployers announced redundancy of 343 of t 649 drivers. The union demanded work-sha instead, but the employers said that the drg cut-back in work from BMC made the dismi inevitable.
Mr. Alan Law, of the union, has now st; that it is "prepared to come away from its dem for 100 per cent withdrawal of the redundg notices and that it is willing to negotiate settlement based on work-sharing for the mainder of its members".
But Mr. R. J. Carrington, chairman of Longbridge Group, told me: "The unior still trying to tell us how many workers we s employ". He added that there was a str possibility of further dismissals and short t when the men eventually return to work becg of reduced production at Longbridge.
There is one bright note. None of the gror 15 member firms is in danger of going on business, as was at first feared. "This was to a meeting of the group on Monday and non them batted an eyelid", Mr. Carrington a&