‘Unity of purpose’

Unite said it would be working to ensure the ‘unity of purpose’ shown at the first meeting of the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) development partnership is put into action.

The partnership involving Unite, JLR bosses, politicians, local authorities and industry figures was set up in the wake of last week’s announcement of further job losses at JLR.  

The first meeting held yesterday (January 14) was attended by the business secretary Greg Clark, West Midlands mayor Andy Street, JLR bosses including Ralf Speth, West Midlands MPs Jack Dromey, Caroline Spelman, Julian Knight and Jim Cunningham, in addition to town hall bosses from across the West Midlands and Merseyside.

The event was held at the National Automotive Innovation Centre in Warwick.

“This was a positive first meeting with a real unity of purpose around what is needed to ensure Jaguar Land Rover remains a powerhouse of the UK’s car industry,” said Unite national officer Des Quinn, who attended the meeting.

“A key priority was the need to assist people, who face potentially losing their jobs, to move into other employment to ensure vital skills are not lost to industry, as well as support for the supply chain which relies on JLR’s continuing success,” he added.

“Added to that, was a welcome recognition by the business secretary Greg Clark of a continued need for diesel powered cars in reducing CO2 emissions, as the motor industry transitions to electric and alternatively powered vehicles.

“It is vital that everyone now puts the ‘unity of purpose’ shown at the meeting into action, if the UK car industry and JLR are to continue to be a global success and a source for decent jobs.

“This includes the government doing more to support the supply chain and stepping up investment in areas, such as charging infrastructure to support the growth of electric and alternatively powered vehicles.”