CSEU conference digest
by Tony Burke, Unite assistant general
secretary
Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering
Unions’ annual conference
The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions is a
umbrella union for manufacturing unions Unite, GMB, Prospect, TSSA,
RMT, Community and UCATT. The union negotiates with employers,
signs national agreements, lobbies government and campaigns for
manufacturing jobs.
The Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions’ (CSEU)
conference was held in Southport from 13-15 July 2011. The
following is a round up of the debates and some of the motions
passed at this year’s conference.
Wednesday 13 July 2011
Bombardier
John Pearson, Bombardier works committee chairman, and Unite
assistant general secretary, Diana Holland, spoke at the CSEU
conference in Southport on Bombardier.
Bombardier is the UK's last train manufacturer, but the
government awarded preferred bidder status to build train carriages
for UK tracks to a consortium which will carry out the vast
majority of the manufacturing work overseas. John Pearson, Unite
member and chairman of the works committee at Bombardier UK urged
politicians, the public and the media to keep up the pressure on
the government to reconsider its decision on Bombardier.
Thursday 14 July 2011
Unions call for Strategic Investment Bank
for manufacturers
Manufacturing and engineering unions called on the government to
create a Strategic Investment Bank to provide funding to companies
for advanced and innovative manufacturing.
Speaking at the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering
Unions’ conference, Unite's assistant general secretary, Tony Burke
said: "The fabled Green Investment Bank is a good idea which has
yet to see the light of day and when it does in two - three years
time it will be unable to provide the level of funding really
needed.
"We need a strategic shift in the balance of our economy and it
requires tangible support from the government including a
Strategic Investment Bank to provide funding to companies for
advanced and innovative manufacturing. The biggest cry we hear from
manufacturers, particularly those smaller and medium sized
enterprises, is that access to funding is simply not available at a
viable price.”
Pan business redeployment
Ian Waddell, Unite national officer for aerospace and
shipbuilding, proposed the introduction of pan business
redeployment to retain manufacturing skills in the UK.
One way of doing this is through a process of redeployment
similar to what other EU countries do where workers who face
redundancy are assisted to find work with other manufacturing
employers. Unite believes that if employers, workers and trade
unions work together it could be possible to mitigate the loss of
key skills in UK manufacturing.
Training levy
Paul Evans of Tata Steel and member of Unite's metals sector
national committee warned that the government's education policy
meant the future availability of home grown scientists, engineers
and technicians is at risk. He said that the young people in the UK
must have the education, skills and training to help them achieve
if we are to have a vibrant and innovative manufacturing sector.
Vocational training is as important as university education and
therefore the government should introduce a training levy for
employers who do not train their workers. Many employers are very
good at training, but this is not true for all employers as is
especially problematic for small and medium sized enterprises.
New CSEU president
Ian Tonks, Unite national officer elected as president of CSEU
for next two years taking over from the GMB's national officer,
Keith Hazelwood.
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