‘Good economic sense’

Airbus, one of the world’s biggest aerospace companies, has issued a statement to its workforce asking them to back a ‘remain’ vote in the upcoming European Union referendum for the business to stay competitive.

Unite, which has over 450,000 members in manufacturing, gave its backing to the statement and believes Airbus UK is right to highlight the likely risks and complications that a ‘leave’ vote would create to the aircraft maker’s business model and ‘modus operandi’.

Unite is calling on its 1.4m members to back ‘remain’ and understands the dangers that would be associated with a vote to leave the European Union and its potential to put future investment decisions in serious doubt.

“Unite also recognises that UK workers derive significant benefits from European social and employment legislation that would immediately be lost if we voted to leave the EU,” said Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary.

“These include rights many of us take for granted, such as four weeks’ paid leave at average pay, parental leave, part time and temporary/agency worker protections, regulation of working hours, as well as anti-discrimination legislation and many others,” he added.

Airbus makes large aeroplanes and helicopters for civilian airlines and the RAF as well as satellites and cyber defence equipment.

The company employs 15,000 workers at 25 sites across the UK, generating ÂŁ6bn a year and says it is indirectly responsible for a further 100,000 jobs among its British suppliers.

In the statement, the company emphasised that its ability to move people and products around Europe has helped to make it a success.

“Airbus Group’s success in the UK is predicated on a highly competitive, integrated European business model,” it says.

“Our position is we firmly believe that it makes good economic sense to stay inside the EU which has helped make the company the global success story it is today. Apart from anything else, we simply don’t know what ‘out’ looks like.”

Unite also recognises the critical role that the European Union has played in securing peace in a continent that has historically been plagued with national and ethnic conflicts.

“Although Unite opposes the austerity and privatisation agenda that the EU has been following in recent years, we believe on balance that a vote to ‘remain’ will protect jobs and hard won rights, which is why we are urging our members to vote to ‘remain’ and push for change within a reformed European Union,” said Tony.

Make sure you’re registered to vote in the EU referendum on June 23. Remember the deadline to register to vote is April 18.