‘13,000 jobs at risk if Trident is delayed’, says Unite
30 July 2010
About 13,000 jobs could be lost if the Trident nuclear deterrent
is delayed because the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has to bear the
full £20 billion of renewal costs.
Unite, the largest union in the country, warned today (Friday,
30 July) that not only would these jobs be lost, but Britain’s
capability to build nuclear-powered submarines could be lost
forever.
And if the MoD has to stump up the full-cost of building the
submarines - traditionally borne by the Treasury - thousands more
defence jobs could go as other conventional programmes are slashed
to pay for Trident, such as the two new aircraft carriers
promised.
Unite said the 13,000 jobs that could be under threat are at
Barrow (where the submarines are built), Faslane (where they are
based), Derby (where the nuclear reactors are built) and the
Devonport dockyard, Plymouth (where the subs are refitted and
repaired).
Bernie Hamilton, Unite’s national officer, aerospace &
shipbuilding, said: ”Up to 13,000 jobs could be at risk if Trident
is delayed and any lengthy delay will mean that Britain is in
danger of losing the skills and ability to build such
submarines.
”The picture gets worse if Osborne continues to insist that the
MoD, already facing cuts of 10-20 per cent as part of the
comprehensive spending review, has to slash conventional weapons’
programmes to pay for Trident.
”We could then be talking about losing thousands more jobs than
the initial 13,000 – that figure will be dwarfed as the axe
falls.”
Unite is also concerned about the future of its15,000 industrial
members working for the MoD, such as tank fitters and aircraft
refuelers.
ENDS
Notes to news editors:
For further information, please contact: Bernie Hamilton on
07958624664 and 08456044384 ext 51603 or Shaun Noble,
communications officer, on 07768 693940
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