{"id":17052,"date":"2019-01-24T13:40:18","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T13:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=17052"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:57:46","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:57:46","slug":"unite-len-mcluskey-meets-theresa-may-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=17052","title":{"rendered":"‘Action not warm words’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite general secretary Len McCluskey today (January 24) met with prime minister Theresa May to press the trade union movement\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case for unequivocal protection of jobs, investment and workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights post-Brexit.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey was among a handful of top trade union leaders including TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady and Unison general secretary Dave Prentis among others to meet with the prime minister amid a Brexit deadlock in Parliament that so far shows no sign of being resolved.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey told Sky News afterwards that he questioned whether the prime minister was merely treating their meeting as a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098PR stunt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or whether it was \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a genuine attempt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 to reach out to the trade union movement.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWarm words are one thing but action is what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reiterating his belief that extending article 50 is the only way out of the Brexit impasse because it gives more time to thrash out further negotiations, McCluskey said that the prime minister \u00e2\u20ac\u015bneeds to take an initiative to pull people together towards discussion\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

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But he added that any extension should not be prolonged for more than a few months because he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwe have to give a clear indication\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 that the referendum result won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdismissed by stealth\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 with delay after delay.<\/p>\n

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The Unite leader said that today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meeting was in many ways \u00e2\u20ac\u015btwo and a half years too late\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and pointed to the fact that the Brexit chaos the country is now engulfed in resulted from a Conservative government rushing through a referendum over 12 weeks when voters were given 18 months in the Scottish referendum to mull over the arguments for and against Scottish independence.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey noted that he \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t particularly enthusiastic\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 about his meeting with the prime minister today because he wanted to see action from May and not simply words.<\/p>\n

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Responding to suggestions that the risks of a no-deal Brexit were over-hyped as part of so-called \u00e2\u20ac\u0098project fear\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, he noted that all Unite members, whether they voted to leave or remain are concerned about \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwhat would happen to their jobs and investment\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 in the event of no-deal.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEvery time I talk to major companies, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s investment that is the key,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015b[Companies] take investment decisions years ahead before the investment going in. I can name half a dozen companies I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spoken to who say they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve put investment on the back boiler.<\/p>\n

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McCluskey highlighted how Airbus, with its 14,000-strong workforce, most of whom are Unite members, today (January 24) announced it may close UK factories in the event of a no-deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015b[No deal] cannot be allowed to happen and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe any British prime minister would allow it to happen,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt would be catastrophic and [Theresa May] has been told that from all parts.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner echoed McCluskey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s views today as he responded to Airbus chief executive Tom Enders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 warning against a no-deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo deal Brexit fantasists should pay heed to this strongest warning yet from Airbus, a powerhouse of UK manufacturing and a central support to local and regional economies across the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe consequences of a no deal Brexit on the future of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s world leading aerospace sector, its integrated supply chain and wider manufacturing would be catastrophic.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey today (January 24) met with prime minister Theresa May to press the trade union movement\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s case for unequivocal protection of jobs, investment and workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 rights post-Brexit.   McCluskey was among a handful of top trade union leaders including TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady and Unison general secretary Dave Prentis among […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[486,160,561],"wps_subtitle":"Unite GS Len McCluskey meets with prime minister Theresa May amid Brexit deadlock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17052"}],"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=17052"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25607,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17052\/revisions\/25607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}