An Exercise in Redeployment

An Exercise in Redeployment: The Report of a Trade Union Study Group discusses the report of a trade union study group that probed the cancellation of the TSR2 project, forcing some 2,000 employees of Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd. to look for other jobs. The report shows how the study group saw and handled the problems; how they saw management's reactions; the efforts of the full-time trade union officials; the response from Ministry of Labor officers; and attitudes on the shop floor and in the office. Emphasis is placed on the shop-floor environment and the shop-floor negotiators. This book is comprised of 15 chapters and opens with a background description of the aircraft industry, followed by a discussion on the TSR2 and the thinking and expectations behind the British government's decision to cancel the project. An analysis of redundancy then follows with the group's thoughts directed towards the sort of questions which are not very often addressed. The negotiations that took place, including those involving severance pay and overtime, are considered. The extent of the experience of members of the study group in previous redundancies is also assessed. The last section gives some indication of what happened to some of the TSR2 workers who nominated themselves to leave under the voluntary system. This monograph will be of interest to trade union members and officials as well as labor policymakers.

PrefaceMembers of the Study GroupAcknowledgments1. Introduction2. The Aircraft Industry3. The TSR24. Some Thoughts on Labor Mobility and Redundancy5. Previous Redundancy Experiences6. The Immediate Reactions of Management - Securing the Right to Negotiate7. The Negotiations Begin8. Reactions and Responses in the First Couple of Weeks9. The Negotiations Continue10. Severance Pay Negotiations11. The Negotiations on Overtime12. The Movement of Labor13. The Work of the Four-Man Sub-Committee14. Some Concluding Remarks15. The Results of a Limited SurveyAppendix I TSR2 Redundancy. Part Played by the Ministry of LaborAppendix II The Main Features of the Redundancy Payments ActAppendix III Redeployment and TrainingAppendix IV A Selection of News FlashesAppendix V Memorandum from Bristol Aero-Engines Limited on Redundancy Policy and ProcedureAppendix VI The Disputed Ministry of Labor FormAppendix VII Graphs Graph 1. Bristol Siddeley Engines, Bristol. Redundancy Situation as a Result of Cancellation of TSR2 Graph 2. Works and Staff Voluntary Movement Graph 3 Graph 4