{"id":11604,"date":"2017-02-28T10:46:47","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T10:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11604"},"modified":"2017-02-28T14:04:50","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T14:04:50","slug":"ford-commit-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11604","title":{"rendered":"Ford: commit to workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will tomorrow (March 1) call upon Ford to end the agony of its Welsh workforce and commit at last to the Bridgend engine plant.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, McCluskey will add, failure to provide commitments on new investment will see the workforce move one step closer to strike action in defence of their jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The warning comes ahead of the Unite general secretary\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s St David’s Day visit to the Bridgend where he will speak to the workforce in three mass meetings to give\u00c2\u00a0the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s full backing in the fight for their future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And in a message to Ford\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s UK management, Len McCluskey says the car maker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s repeated failure to demonstrate that it has the long-term product strategy needed to sustain the plant has left the workforce increasingly fearful for their jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He will demand an end to the uncertainty and call for Ford to work alongside Unite and the Welsh government to ensure a sustainable future for the world class plant which has for decades been central to its global engine strategy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Bridgend plant is one of Ford\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s last two engine manufacturing facilities in the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Len McCluskey said, “Unite members are committed to Ford, the Welsh Assembly is committed to Ford, all we need now is for Ford to commit to its workforce.\u00c2\u00a0 That means investment, new product lines and a clear plan for the plants future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is no more than Ford is giving its other engine plants . The uncertainty that has plagued the plant following the announcement to halve the Dragon engine programme in September must end and end now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“For the past thirty-five years, the Ford engine plant has been at the heart of the Welsh economy, indeed it is one of the jewels in the crown of the Welsh economy,” he added. “With some of the most skilled workers anywhere in the UK there is no reason why this plant should not continue to play a key role if Fords future global plans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis site has thrived for the past 35 years. With a collective will it can thrive for another thirty five years and continue to provide employment and security for workers, families and communities across South Wales.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“That is the message I am bringing to Bridgend today.\u00c2\u00a0 These workers are world class, their product is world class \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and Unite is determined to win a bright future for both.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Len McCluskey will address the workforce in separate meetings with the three shifts of each day, inside the Ford plant, starting with the morning shift when it finishes at 1pm.\u00c2\u00a0 His last meeting will begin at 10pm when the night shift clocks on.\u00c2\u00a0 He will be joined by Unite’s Welsh secretary Andy Richards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will tomorrow (March 1) call upon Ford to end the agony of its Welsh workforce and commit at last to the Bridgend engine plant.   However, McCluskey will add, failure to provide commitments on new investment will see the workforce move one step closer to strike action in defence of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7593,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[386,674],"wps_subtitle":"Action call to sustain Bridgend plant","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11604"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11605,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11604\/revisions\/11605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7593"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}