Unite to challenge Bombardier over proposed redundancies
30th September 2009
Unite, the UK’s largest trade union, is to challenge rail
engineering company, Bombardier to justify its reasoning to
transfer large contracts from its Ilford facility to Chart Leacon,
near Ashford, Kent.
This move would cause the closure of one of two workshops and
would lead to a reduction of the Ilford workforce by two thirds
from 146 to 55.
Unite regional officer, John Morgan-Evans, said: “This proposal
will take a huge chunk of engineering work out of the east end of
London at a time when the capital’s manufacturing base has already
been hit hard by the recession.
“These specialised skills have been built up over many years and
will not be easy to replace should work build up again in the rail
engineering sector. These are challenging times. However, we cannot
see what competitive advantage would be gained by closing one of
the Ilford facilities.”
Unite will robustly defend its members' interests at Bombardier.
Further talks on the company’s plans are due to take place on
Friday (2nd October).
ENDS
For further information contact John Morgan-Evans on 020 8800
4281 ext. 217 or Ashraf Choudhury in the Unite Press Office on 020
7420 8914 or 07980 224761.
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