Action now call

Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland are holding their breath as they await a critical decision from the US Department of Commerce at 5pm this afternoon (September 26).

In April, US aerospace company Boeing put in a complaint that its Canada-based rival Bombardier had benefited from state-aid from the Canadian and UK governments, giving them an unfair competitive advantage.

If the company’s claim holds up, thousands of jobs could be at risk at Bombardier’s Belfast site.

Action is needed now, Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke explained today (September 26), as he called on delegates at the Labour Party Conference to support an emergency motion demanding that the UK government step in.

 

“Conference, on 18^th September Theresa May met Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss a complaint by the US aerospace company Boeing to the US Commerce Department regarding aerospace company Bombardier,” he said.

“Bombardier in Belfast make the wings for the successful CSeries single aisle passenger jet with final assembly of the planes in Canada,” Burke noted.

He said that if Boeing’s unfair competition claims are successful, Bombardier could face “punitive fines, threatening the very future of the Bombardier site in Belfast and in Canada.

“At present a thousand workers (or about 25 per cent), are employed on CSeries production but in four years’ time that number is expected to rise to 60 per cent of jobs on site,” Burke highlighted.

The stakes are incredibly high because Bombardier, Burke noted, is the largest private sector employer in Northern Ireland.

“These jobs are vital to the aerospace industry and manufacturing economy and sustain many times more in the wider supply chain in the UK and Ireland,” he said.

UK unions are working to do all they can as they collaborate with Canadian and US unions to get the Canadian government to ensure they stop Boeing taking this action.

But the UK government has a vital role to play too, Burke said.

“The company benefited from state investment from Canada and from Invest NI all of which was entirely lawful and legitimate – a fact that the UK government must now urgently clarify,” he explained.

He argued that Boeing’s attempts to link this public investment to the allegations of unfair competition are unsustainable.

After all, Burke pointed out, Boeing’s claim that Bombardier had undercut the company after selling its CSeries to Delta does not quite hold water – Boeing did not even make a bid to Delta.

“We are told Theresa May had a phone conversation with President Trump on the matter,” Burke told conference.

“Of course Boeing are emboldened by Trump’s America First policy and as a result thousands of skilled workers futures are in doubt,” he added.

“What is needed is to end this corporate bullying by Boeing, putting these good jobs at risk.”

He highlighted that the UK government is the second largest purchaser of Boeing products including P8 marine surveillance aircraft and Apache helicopters estimated to be around ÂŁ4bn worth of work.

“Conference, we call upon the British and Canadian governments to meet with Boeing to resolve this crisis,” he added, noting that the decision from the US Department of Commerce is expected at 5pm this afternoon.

“The Prime minister and the government need to make it clear to Trump they will not stand back and watch our members jobs and our communities threatened like this.
“Mrs May needs to stand up for our members in the aerospace industry and for decent jobs and for manufacturing in the UK,” Burke argued. “She needs some ‘creative thinking’.”

He paid tribute to Labour’s recognition of the importance of an active industrial strategy and that certain sectors are of strategic significance to the economy.

“The government must follow Labour’s lead in setting out an industrial strategy that develops our manufacturing base more widely and into the future, creating good jobs across all regions, nations and communities,” he concluded, calling on delegates to support the motion.

The motion was passed.

Watch Burke’s full speech in the video below: