Orders of the Day — Bsa Triumph Motor Cycles Limited

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 5 Rhagfyr 1973.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Mr Christopher Chataway Mr Christopher Chataway , Chichester 12:00, 5 Rhagfyr 1973

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Nuneaton (Mr. Leslie Huckfield) for -giving me the opportunity to reply to what he said about the motor cycle industry and the problems of Meriden. It is true that as both a member of the Transport and General Workers' Union and a Member of Parliament, with a large number of constituents employed at the Meriden works, the hon. Member has taken an extremely active and close interest in this matter over the last few months.

My hon. Friend the Member for Meriden (Mr. Speed) is a member of the Government and, as the House will understand, is therefore not able to play as public a rôle, but he has kept in very close touch with me and has been deeply concerned about the future of the company.

The hon. Member for Nuneaton recalled that on 19th March I announced that, subject to satisfactory arrangements being made, the Department was prepared to support the merger of the motor cycle interests of BSA with the motor cycle manufacturing subsidiary of Manganese Bronze Holdings—Norton Villiers—in a new company. Our object in doing that and and our purpose in agreeing to inject about £4·8 milion into that company was to secure this country's motor cycle industry—an industry which exports a substantial amount each year.

Nobody had suggested that it would be easy to reorganise the industry and put it on a viable footing. Following the merger of the new company NVT had three motor cycle factories—the former BSA factories at Small Heath, Birmingham, and at Meriden near Coventry, and the former Norton Villiers factory at Wolverhampton. From 1971 the assembly of Triumph motor cycles had been concentrated by BSA at Meriden, at the cost of major redundancies at Small Heath. As the hon. Gentleman has rightly recalled, there were conflicting reports from different consultants as to which way the concentration should go, but from that time Small Heath made three-cylinder engines for motor cycles assembled at Meriden and a limited number of specialist off-road machines, and did some finishing of parts for Meriden.

It was clear that if the objectives of strength and competitiveness for a revived British motor cycle industry were to be achieved there would need to be reorganisation and rationalisation. The new board of Norton Villiers Triumph came to the conclusion that it should concentrate motor cycle manufacture at Small Heath and Wolverhampton, and that it had no option but to close the Meriden factory. It came to that conclusion because it believed that there was no other way in which it could produce a viable motor cycle industry.

In announcing its decision NVT drew attention to the fact that the BSA motor cycle business, as a whole, had suffered a loss of £4 million in the year ended 31st July 1973 and that the losses were continuing. It was understandable that there should have been a strong reaction from the Meriden work force to the announcement. I appreciate that when the earlier announcement of a merger between BSA and Norton Villiers was announced those at Meriden must have felt that their future was secure. I know about the pride which is taken in the Triumph machine by the Meriden work force. That is absolutely right.

Unfortunately, as we all know, what ensued from the announcement of an intention to close was a work-in which subsequently became a sit-in. It is a dispute that has gone on for a long time. It is a dispute in which losses have been sustained by both sides—the company and the work force. The company has lost production which could have been sold in the American market. The hundreds of former employees who have gone to find other jobs have done so, as the hon. Gentleman said, without a redundancy settlement being negotiated to supplement basic redundancy pay. All employees have lost wages.

Like most industrial disputes, this is certainly not one which either side will win. It is no part of my purpose to try to apportion blame for the failure over the past few months to come to an agreement. I know that the hon. Gentleman is as anxious as I am to look to the future and try to ensure that an agreement is reached as soon as is humanly possible.

The hon. Gentleman referred to the meeting last Friday, to which I invited both sides. That meeting was attended by Mr. Harry Urwin the Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union. Mr. Urwin played an active and constructive rôle in the talks that took place. At the meeting it became clear that the work force had two objectives. Its first was to try to ensure that as many people as possible should be re-employed. Its second was to have the opportunity to try to purchase the factory and the plant, in due course to find a backer to enable them to do so, and perhaps to continue, once they had purchased it, as a workers' co-operative.

The management had the objective, first, of securing the completed motor cycles from the Meriden works and finishing off the part-completed ones, and, secondly, of continuing production at Meriden for some time in order to meet the very considerable demand in the American market. I agree with the hon. Gentleman that there is a possibility of selling large numbers of machines there. Thirdly, the management wanted to secure the jigs and plans which at the moment are inside the Meriden factory, because these are essential to the continuation of work at Small Heath and the development of NVT.

There had been discussions between the two parties over the previous weeks. It had become clear to the management that a limited number of people could be employed at the factory at that time, and the major dispute between the two sides when the meeting began was about the number of people who might be brought back into employment.

The difficulty was the supply of components. About a fortnight before, the management had made an offer to the work force to take back, as a minimum, 250 people, to work for a minimum period of three months. The work force felt that this was an inadequate number. The proposal that therefore emerged during this meeting was one under which, as a short-term measure, a company would be formed on behalf of the work force, the men would go back to work on two-cylinder motor cycles and spares, selling them to NVT, after which the work force, as represented by the new company, would have the option, for a limited period, to purchase the plant and the factory at the end of the interim period.

The advantage of this to the work force was accepted as being, first and foremost, and immediately, that they could decide how many people there was work for—how many people could profitably go back to work on the machines on the basis of the supplies that were forthcoming. Secondly, it had the advantage of giving the opportunity for the work force fully to explore the possibility of continuing, on some basis, motor cycle production at Meriden.

For the management, the advantage of this arrangement appeared to be that it would enable the motor cycles and the jigs and plans from Meriden to be released. It would, therefore, enable NVT to continue with its plans for the reorganisation of the motor cycle industry. It would also secure employment in Small Heath, because it has become extremely important that these materials from Meriden should fairly shortly be released for the benefit of NVT as a whole.

I have hopes, therefore, that the details of this agreement can now be finalised between the two parties. As the hon. Gentleman said, a number of matters are still outstanding. The parties have to agree about the price that will be paid by NVT for the work done in the interim period at Meriden. The importance of reaching agreement will be clear to both sides, and there is not a great deal of time in which to do it. I am sure that there will be a real sense of urgency. On a matter such as this it would be possible to go on negotiating for a long time about the details. There have been losses to both sides as a result of this industrial dispute, and I believe that there is a willingness by both sides to come to an agreement.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has spoken about this matter tonight. I know that he will share my hope that we shall shortly see an end to the dispute and progress being made to secure the opportunities available, both at home and abroad, for the motor cycle industry, particularly in the American market. Any assistance that he can give to speed the progress of these talks will be welcomed by all who are concerned in the motor cycle industry.