‘Light it up blue’

Big-hearted Unite members working for Rolls Royce in Derby have forked out ÂŁ2,000 to light up their plant in blue to raise aware of autism which affects 700,000 people in the UK.

Global icons such as Sydney Opera House and the Empire State Building were joined this week by Unite, and Rolls-Royce in lighting up the Moor Lane factory in blue for 48 hours.

Unite’s Rolls Royce branches across the UK with about 15,000 members have paid £2,000 to light up the building from 8pm to sunrise from Wednesday until 8pm tonight (April 8).

While ‘Light it up blue’ is certainly eye-catching, it’s just the latest step along the journey to become more autism-friendly, improve working lives, and help people achieve their full potential.

“According to The National Autistic Society, only 15 per cent of autistic adults in the UK are in full-time paid employment,” said Unite regional officer Tony Tinley.

“We hope that in lighting up the Rolls Royce plant, we can encourage employers in Derby and throughout the East Midlands to think seriously about taking on someone who has autism.”

“Autism is an issue we know is very relevant to our members, so it’s great that we’re working together to both raise awareness and make a difference to the working lives of our people,” Simon Hemmings, Unite chief negotiator for Derby and Hucknall staff said.

“Our Unite representatives across the UK were more than happy to pay to have the building lit up in Blue for World Autism Awareness week.”

 

Earlier this year, Rolls Royce signed up to the UK Autism Charter.

Autism is much more common than many people think. There are around 700,000 people in the UK living with autism – that’s more than 1 in 100. If their families are included, autism touches the lives of 2.8 million people every day.