{"id":18039,"date":"2019-05-13T16:27:12","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18039"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:30","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:30","slug":"honda-swindon-plant-closure-dvd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18039","title":{"rendered":"Dumped by DVD"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Honda today (May 13) confirmed that it would press ahead with the closure of its Swindon plant by 2021 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a move Unite branded a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098body blow of betrayal’ as reports emerged that workers had been told the news via DVD.<\/p>\n

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Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (May 13) news comes after the carmaker said it had rejected an alternative plan for the Swindon plant which would have kept it open.<\/p>\n

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The closure of Honda Swindon threatens the livelihoods of over 15,000 direct Honda employees and workers in the supply chain.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Dehumanising\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Before news broke in February of Honda\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans to shut the Swindon site, workers had been kept in the dark about the proposals \u00e2\u20ac\u201c they learned of their fates in media reports.<\/p>\n

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Today (May 13) as Honda confirmed its plans publicly, workers again were treated with shocking disrespect, explained Unite regional officer Steve Preddy.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bToday, workers were shunted into a room and shown a DVD confirming the plant closure,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey were then told if they had any questions to go to their union rep or HR. Workers have been left stunned by the utter callousness of the company,\u00c2\u00a0which has chosen to deliver this devastating news to their loyal workforce first by media leaks and then by DVD. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s unbelievably dehumanising.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Preddy said the effect the Honda plant closure would have on the local community would be devastating.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSwindon and the surrounding area had already been hit hard when the rail industry left the town \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Honda came in and picked up the pieces. Now, the area will be totally bereft of any quality manufacturing jobs. The effect this will have on the local area and local businesses cannot be overstated.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Alternative plan<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Honda said in a statement that its decision to close the plant is \u00e2\u20ac\u015bpart of Honda’s broader global strategy in response to changes to the automotive industry”.<\/p>\n

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But Unite national officer Des Quinn said that Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alternative case to keep Honda Swindon open \u00e2\u20ac\u015badded up and was likely to be backed by the government with public money.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt would have made Honda a global leader in emerging battery technology and in a strong position to exploit the growing global market for electric vehicles in the coming years,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bInstead we have this body blow which is nothing short of a betrayal of the workforce, customers and the wider supply chain which relies on Honda Swindon for work.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Preddy agreed with Quinn that Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s alternative plan had not been adequately considered by the company.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe have done all we can to engage meaningfully with Honda \u00e2\u20ac\u201c now we are prepared to do anything and everything, including taking industrial action, to defend our members,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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Quinn pointed out that the only conclusion that can be drawn from today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s news is that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bHonda is taking a strategic decision to retreat out of Europe in favour of protecting its North American operations and avoiding president Trump\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tariff threat on cars made in Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite will be consulting with its members on our next steps in the coming days,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Honda today (May 13) confirmed that it would press ahead with the closure of its Swindon plant by 2021 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a move Unite branded a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098body blow of betrayal’ as reports emerged that workers had been told the news via DVD.   Today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (May 13) news comes after the carmaker said it had rejected an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17452,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[230,386,1119],"wps_subtitle":"Honda Swindon plant closure plans told to workers by DVD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039"}],"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=18039"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25290,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions\/25290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17452"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}