Wikipedia

Work-in

Awork-inis a form ofdirect actionunder which workers whose jobs are under threat resolve to remain in their place of employment and to continue producing, without pay. Their intention is usually to show that their place of work still has long-term viability or that it can be effectivelyself-managed by the workers.

Historical examples

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Upper Clyde Shipbuilders, 1971-1972

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In June 1971,Upper Clyde ShipbuildersinScotlandentered liquidation after theHeath governmentrefused to provide further subsidies to save them from closure.[3]It was announced that two of the firm's three shipyards would close and 1400 people were immediately made redundant.[4]: 43 Workers responded by occupying the three shipyards and announced that a group of workers would continue to run the yards.[4]: 43 Jimmy Reid,ashop stewardand the spokesperson for the group, stated:[4]: 43 

Nothing and nobody will come in or go out of the yards without our permission. The world is witnessing a new tactic on behalf of the workers... We are not going on strike - not even a sit-in strike. We are taking over the yards because we refuse to accept that faceless men can make these decisions.

Marches,concerts,public collectionsand other fundraising was organised to support the workers involved, collecting nearly £250,000.[3]The work-in gained international attention and public support;John LennonandYoko Onodonated £1000, as did theNational Union of Mineworkers,and shipbuilders from theUSSRdonated £2700.[5]

On 18 August, a mass demonstration in support of the workers was held inGlasgow,with 80,000 people marching fromGlasgow GreentoGeorge Square.[5]Among those who attended the protest wereVic Feather(theTUCgeneral secretary),Billy Connolly,Matt McGinnandTony Benn.[5]The chief constable ofGlasgow's police,David McNee,told the government he could not guarantee public safety if the yard closures went ahead and asked for 5000 extra officers to maintain order.[4]: 44 

The work-in ended in spring 1972,[6]with the government committing in February 1972 to supporting UCS with a further £35m of state funding.[4]: 44 

Harco steel mill, 1971

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Main article:1971 Harco work-in

Harco Steel, a steel manufacturing company based inCampbelltown,Sydney,was dependent on state and federal government contracts, laying off workers once they had been completed and rehiring them as new ones were signed.[7]Workers went on strike often and sometimes won higher wages, but never managed to prevent dismissals.[7]Strikes were less successful because management stockpiled materials before firing workers,[8]meaning strikes would have no effect on the firm's profit in the short term.

On 16 November 1971, the firm dismissed five boilermakers and one ironworker due to a downturn in orders.[7]With past strikes having been generally ineffective, workers met and, taking inspiration from the UCS work-in andfactory occupationsby French car-makersduring May 1968,decided to occupy the steelworks.[7]

The next morning, the workers took control of the factory, declaring management to be "surplus to their requirements".[7]The management called the police and the workers informed the press and other unions in order to publicise their occupation.[7]Due to the level of local support, police took no action.[7]

The occupation, termed a 'stay-put' by workers, continued for four weeks with a 35-hourwork week.[7]TheBoilermakers Unionhad campaigned for a 35-hour work week, but this was the first instance of it being implemented.[7][8]The workers were supported by donations from other unions and worksites and food from the local community.[8]

Because the workers were working rather than striking, Harco could not remove them under theArbitration Act.[7]Instead, management removed tools, ladders and power to try to shut down the steelworks and called on theFederated Ironworkers' Association(FIA) to intervene in the dispute. Staunchly anti-Communist and known for its compliance with business, the FIA called for a strike at the Harco plant which would have ended the work-in.[7]The workers ignored their union and continued their work-in.[7]

The work-in was defeated by the use of the New South Wales Summary Offenses Act,[9]with Harco issuing trespass notices to the workers ordering them to leave.[7]Under the Commonwealth Industrial Act, any union which supported the work-in could be penalised and so the Boilermakers Union refused to give legal aid to the Harco workers if they continued working.[7]

The case made it to theSupreme Court of New South Wales,where the workers were ordered to leave the steelworks - workers who remained would be fined $1000 per day which could be seized from sales of their personal property.[7]The work-in ended and workers held a Christmas party to celebrate their occupation.[7]

LIP watch factory, 1973

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After theLIP's managing director Jacques Saint-Esprit resigned in 1973, there was uncertainty over the firm's future. The workers' unions at the factory inBesançon,theCGTand theCFDT,opposedadministrationplans and encouraged workers to support collective action rather than takevoluntary redundancies.[10]

At a meeting between workers and the firm's directors in June 1973,[11]a worker grabbed a briefcase from one of the directors and ran off with it.[12]The briefcase's contents laid out the closure of all of LIP's divisions except watchmaking, which was to be sold to a Swiss company, Ébauches SA.[12][13]The Swiss company planned to lay off at least 960 of LIP's 1427 employees.[13]

On 10 June, workers occupied the LIP factory in order to "safeguard the means of production";[10]the occupation continued for 57 days.[14]During this time, they seized 65,000 watches (30,000 of which were smuggled out of the factory and hidden across Besançon)[10]and attempted to set up aself-management systemunder the slogan "We produce, we sell, we pay ourselves".[14]On 18 June, workers endorsed the idea of restarting production, with leading shop stewardCharles Piagetusing the UCS work-in as an example.[10]Different working processes were created with slower paces and more frequent rotations in the most tiring jobs; 25,000 watches were made during the work-in.

Despite an August 1973 finding 63% of French adults to be sympathetic to the cause of the LIP workers, the national political landscape was not favourable.[10]Prime MinisterPierre Messmersent 3,000 state police with orders to reclaim the factory and end the occupation.[10]The factory was taken by police on 14 August and the work-in was ended.[12]An agreement was eventually reached between workers and management, with Charles Neuschwander, a left-wing employer, taking over and pledging to employ all remaining workers as part of a new enterprise called SEHEM.[10][13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"The 1972 Sydney Opera House Work-In".The Commons.2022-03-23.Retrieved2022-05-18.
  2. ^"The Nymboida Coal Mine Takeover, NSW, 1975–1979".The Commons.2022-03-22.Retrieved2022-05-18.
  3. ^ab"The UCS 'work in'".BBC.Retrieved31 December2023.
  4. ^abcdeMartin Holmes (1982). "3 - The U-turn over industry policy".Political Pressure and Economic Policy: British Government 1970-1974.Butterworth Scientific.ISBN9780408108300.
  5. ^abcHamish MacPherson (14 September 2021)."Clyde shipbuilders work-in was caused by Tory incompetence".The National.Retrieved31 December2023.
  6. ^Conrad Landin (29 July 2021)."The Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-In".Tribune.Retrieved31 December2023.
  7. ^abcdefghijklmnopDrew Cottle; Angela Keys."The 1971 Harco 'Stay-Put': Workers' Control in One Factory?".Australian Society for the Study of Labour History.Retrieved1 January2024.
  8. ^abcIain McIntyre (23 March 2022)."Australian Actions at Different Points of Intervention".The Commons Social Change Library.Retrieved1 January2024.
  9. ^Sam Oldham (November 2015)."Taking Control: The Work-In Phenomenon in the Australian Metal Trades, 1969–78".Labour History(109).Australian Society for the Study of Labour History:93–109.doi:10.5263/labourhistory.109.0093.JSTOR10.5263/labourhistory.109.0093.Retrieved1 January2024.
  10. ^abcdefgConrad Landin (19 April 2019)."Phantom workshops: Militancy, 'work-ins' and a French watch factory".The Times Literary Supplement.Retrieved31 December2023.
  11. ^"LIP, la fin de l'horlogerie française".Paul Bouyssou.16 December 2019.Retrieved1 January2024.
  12. ^abcColin Alexander Smith (17 January 2020)."How LIP And Timex Became Involved In Two Of The 20th Century's Most Vicious Industrial Disputes".Quill and Pad.Retrieved1 January2024.
  13. ^abcXavier Vigna (April 2019). "Review: Donald Reid, Opening the Gates: The Lip Affair, 1968-1981".International Review of Social History.64(1): 159–161.doi:10.1017/S0020859019000257.
  14. ^abAlice Pfeiffer (25 November 2011)."Lip: A Symbol of France".The New York Times.Retrieved31 December2023.
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