Union leader vows every support for Jaguar Land Rover workers
13 January 2009
Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, will meet Jaguar Land
Rover workers at the car manufacturer's Castle Bromwich and
Solihull plants today (January 13th), where he will tell the
workers that Unite will be doing everything in its power to support
manufacturing workers during the financial downturn.
Unite is reiterating its call for a £13 billion strategic
support package from Government, similar to the support provided
last year by the German, French and Swedish governments to their
manufacturing sector, as it emerges that the German government is
to provide further strategic and financial support to its
manufacturing sector.
Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: "The workers
at Jaguar Land Rover are world class, they build outstanding
products and exemplify British skill at its best.
"There are many other productive and efficient manufacturing
companies like JLR across the Midlands in need of short term
support to help them through the credit crunch. Government's
including those in the US, Germany, France and Sweden, have granted
support and we are calling on the Government to give viable British
manufacturing companies similar help so that we do not lose the
world-beating skills essential to ensuring this country emerges
from the recession as a leading economy.
"It has been an extremely bleak beginning to the new year and
there is no doubt that 2009 is going to very tough for working
families across the country. Unions, the Government and business
need to work together to support British jobs and British skills
through strategic intervention."The union has welcomed the
Government's recent announcement to expand apprenticeships, and the
support Gordon Brown announced yesterday to help 500,000 people
into work or training who had been unemployed for more than six
months.
At the end of 2008, Unite the union presented Gordon Brown and
Alistair Darling with ten key priorities as part of government
action to spend its way out of the credit crunch and kick-start the
faltering economy. The Government has already announced protection
for homeowners, investments in public infrastructure and increased
spending, a cut in VAT and a new 45% higher income tax rate.
Mr Simpson continued: "Gordon Brown and the Government are
progressively building on their package of support for Britain.
There is more work to be done, particularly in the shape of
strategic support for British manufacturing, but they are
undoubtedly working hard to support British families.
"Under the Tories, however, we would see this recession last
until doomsday. When they are not being the do-nothing party, they
are the cut-something party."
ENDS
Contact Ciaran Naidoo on 07768 931 315 or Pauline Doyle on 07976
832 861
