{"id":15708,"date":"2018-07-17T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T15:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=15708"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:37","slug":"unite-manufacturing-brexit-roulette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=15708","title":{"rendered":"Gambling away jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite shop stewards representing over 100,000 manufacturing workers travelled from across the UK today (July 17) to lobby Tory MPs for a sensible Brexit that supports key industries and jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before meeting MPs, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey (pictured below) joined shop stewards and Labour MPs outside Parliament where they gathered in front of a giant roulette wheel to warn that the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Brexit chaos is gambling away jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Slamming the Tories\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 squabbling over Theresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Chequers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 deal as well as the prime minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recent Brexit white paper, McCluskey said that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bevery single one of our manufacturing companies, every CEO I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken to has said that they need this confusion done away with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey need to plan for investment which of course is key not only for our jobs but for the future of apprenticeships and our kids,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want friction-less trade and tariff-free access to the single market and a customs union \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s absolutely essential if we are to continue having investment to protect jobs.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Unite<\/p>\n

Reps from across industries in manufacturing \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from automotive to steel to aerospace and more \u00e2\u20ac\u201c explained just how crucial a jobs- and investment-first Brexit is for their livelihoods and the future of their families and communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tariffs fears<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite convenor for British Steel in Scunthorpe Martin Foster said his biggest fear is the UK having to pay tariffs \u00e2\u20ac\u015bas most of our customers are in the EU.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf we have to pay tariffs it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to hurt and it could jeopardise our industry, particularly our company,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBritish Steel is a very young company \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve only been established two years. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still finding our feet and we really can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford the impact that Brexit could have on us.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Rolls-Royce convenor and executive council member Tam Mitchell explained how vital it was for the UK to be part of\u00c2\u00a0the single market and have access to a customs union.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe aerospace industry in particular is integrated with our European partners,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have seamless transactions through the supply chain, it could massively affect all aerospace companies throughout the UK.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Like Foster, Mitchell expressed concern over tariffs, which he said could \u00e2\u20ac\u015bslow work down and increase costs as well which doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help productivity for our members and the companies they work for.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Future investment<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite BMW convenor Steve Sargeant said his biggest fear over Brexit\u00c2\u00a0is lack of investment because of continued uncertainty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCompanies aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to invest when we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re in this dilemma,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t coming up with any clarity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it changes from day to day. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not even month to month or week to week \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s day to day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCompanies don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what to do,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnless these companies are given something certain, they can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t plan for anything. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just causing huge concerns for all of our workplaces \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re desperate for investment and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s being held back by what the government is doing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Unite Airbus shop steward Darren Reynolds, Brexit is about more than just the present moment \u00e2\u20ac\u201c he urged the government to think of future generations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got thousands and thousands of orders on the back log \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which is good \u00e2\u20ac\u201c however what we need is to be looking at the future,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UNITElive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese jobs are not only our<\/em> jobs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we are custodians of these jobs for future generations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a highly skilled workforce and a highly successful apprenticeship programme on both Airbus sites. Going forward for the youth of tomorrow, they have to know whether they have a job for the future and security. Unfortunately, this government isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t giving us any answers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Defending jobs<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke said the union shop stewards came to Parliament today to demand those answers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want to demonstrate to this government that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve had enough of this Brexit chaos,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is damaging decent jobs in manufacturing; it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to damage jobs in the supply chain and will damage investment as well. What we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to do today is demonstrate to the government that they need to get a grip on Brexit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so far it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been a disaster.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey agreed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe want a government that speaks with authority and clarity \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and if we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t got that, which we clearly haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t at the moment, our call is for them to step aside and go back to a general election, go back to the people and ask what they want,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s because the British people are in the exact same position as our manufacturing companies. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happening.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He went on to say that no matter what happens with Brexit, Unite will always put jobs first as he warned companies that they must not use Brexit as an excuse to cut jobs and investment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a message for those companies \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if they think for one minute that we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to lie down and allow them to exit the UK, no matter what happens, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got a shock coming,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite will defend our jobs, whatever the decision here is in Parliament.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the meantime we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re hoping we can drill some sense in this government or ask them to step aside so that we have a government that can conclude an agreement that is protecting jobs and protecting investment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite shop stewards representing over 100,000 manufacturing workers travelled from across the UK today (July 17) to lobby Tory MPs for a sensible Brexit that supports key industries and jobs.   Before meeting MPs, Unite general secretary Len McCluskey (pictured below) joined shop stewards and Labour MPs outside Parliament where they gathered in front of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[519,230,486,55,650,269],"wps_subtitle":"Unite manufacturing reps press MPs for a Brexit deal that protects jobs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26049,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15708\/revisions\/26049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}