Jobs must come first, as Unite announces March for Jobs
31 March 2009
A massive march for jobs through the UK’s manufacturing
heartland has been called today (Tuesday) by the UK’s biggest
union, Unite, in a major effort to ensure that action to protect
jobs and skills is first among the government’s recession-beating
priorities.
The March through central Birmingham in May is announced as the
jobs toll in manufacturing ticks towards 20,000 skilled jobs gone
in the six months since the slump took hold, added to the tens of
thousands more lost in financial services and other key sectors,
and amid fears that not enough is being done to save jobs in
critical parts of the economy.
Announcing the March, Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of
Unite said: “Workers did not cause this recession but they are
paying for it hand over fist with their jobs.
“Twenty thousand jobs have disappeared from manufacturing since
this recession took hold, and thousands more in finance and other
core sectors. Unemployment blights lives and leaves
communities in despair so we will not stand by while our jobs and
the very skills that will help pull us out of this downturn are
swept away by the recession tide.
“People desperately need some assurance that they will remain in
work and can keep a roof over their families' heads, and companies
cannot keep the lights on in factories with promises alone.
No more delay - we need action now or we will see our skills base
and vital manufacturing sector shattered for a
generation.”
The union is joined in its call for action by leading figures in
the business world, including ex-CBI chief and former government
minister Lord Digby Jones and Paul Everitt, the CEO of the Society
of Motor Manufacturers, as well as Jon Cruddas MP and Professor
David Bailey from the Birmingham University Business school, in
pressing for manufacturing to be restored to the heart of the
economy.
Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, added: “If the
state’s help is good enough for the banks, then it is surely good
enough for the UK’s workers.
“Right across the economy, from the car industry to the
financial sector, fear of unemployment is stalking our communities
and wrecking confidence. A clear plan now from government to
support the skilled jobs and businesses of which this country can
be rightly proud, to save jobs and stimulate consumer demand, will
be effort and money well spent.
“Investment now will show that jobs and people that come first,
and will demonstrate to workers that government hears their fears
and is on their side.”
The March is set to take place on Saturday, May 16th through
Birmingham city centre and will be the centrepiece of the union’s
Unite for Jobs campaign to secure urgent and strategic action to
defend jobs within the beleaguered manufacturing sector,
including:
*
The urgent implementation of a temporary short time working
compensation scheme to save the jobs hundreds of thousands of
skilled workers and sustain our manufacturing base in the immediate
term. A joint proposal from the TUC and the Federation of
Small Businesses (FSB) estimated that a £1.2bn package of wage
subsidies would save some 600,000 jobs.
*
Speedier access to credit from the banks, again to ensure immediate
support for manufacturing businesses;
* Extra
government financing for the sector, in keeping with the levels of
assistance provided to manufacturers by overseas competitors;
*
Action to stimulate consumer demand, including a car scrappage
scheme coupled with improved access to finance for buyers;
* A
national strategy for jobs to ensure we have a clear road map out
of this recession, to create secure, skilled work and which places
manufacturing at its heart.
Unite is urging the swift introduction of a short-time working
subsidy, citing its past effectiveness as proof that it can save
jobs and key skills. Such a scheme was last used in the
recession of the late 1970s/early 1980s and helped save thousands
of jobs in demand-sensitive industries, which at the time were
textiles and footwear. The Temporary Employment Scheme (TES)
came into operation in August 1975 and at its height in 1977
covered 190,000 people. It was estimated in 1982 that around 39% of
jobs covered had been saved.
ENDS
For further information call Pauline Doyle on 07976 832 861.
Notes to editors:
Jobs lost in the vehicle manufacturing sector: The BBC reported
recently that it had recorded over 100,000 job losses in the sector
world wide since the recession took hold.
The figures in the UK, based on Unite survey, since the end of
September for the sector are:
Motor vehicle: 8,932
Motor Components: 6,800
This is a conservative estimate as it relies on reported losses
in workplaces only where Unite members are employed. Unite
research suggests that the overall for the period in question is
closer to 20,000.
