{"id":18513,"date":"2019-07-24T16:40:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18513"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:56:00","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:56:00","slug":"no-deal-brexit-lobby","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18513","title":{"rendered":"No deal, no way!"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Unite manufacturing reps from up and down the country descended on Parliament today (July 24) to lobby MPs about the threat of a no deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brandishing placards reading \u00e2\u20ac\u0098No Deal, No Way\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, the shop stewards from industries across manufacturing, including steel, aerospace and automotive among others stood united in their opposition against a no deal Brexit, which they said will decimate their jobs and communities.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Frank Duffy, a rep at GKN Automotive, told UniteLive that a no deal Brexit would have \u00e2\u20ac\u015ba massive impact on the automotive industry\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He explained how his firm supplies to all the major car manufacturers in the UK, including Nissan, JLR and others and that already the impact of Brexit uncertainty is hitting the industry hard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHonda have already decided they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re moving, Nissan have decided that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not building certain models in Sunderland and I feel that a no deal Brexit would have even more serious consequences for our industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Frank said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Peter Tsouvallaris, a Unite shop steward for Toyota, agreed as he explained why being part of the EU with frictionless trade was so important for the company he works for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor us, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a warehouse. Our warehouses are the lorries that come in and continuously flow from the EU across the border into the UK,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said, noting that this seamless movement of goods would be impossible if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Community impact<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Peter added he feared the devastation a no deal Brexit would wreak on his local community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m angry with all that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going on [with the threat of a no deal Brexit],\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told UniteLive. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m old enough to remember when manufacturing jobs were plentiful and what I do know from my experience that once these highly skilled, well-paid jobs jobs go, they never come back.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Airbus senior rep Tracey Blythe also said that she believed a no deal Brexit would be \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcatastrophic\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 for those working\u00c2\u00a0in aerospace.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy local community in Bristol and the surrounding area is built on the aerospace industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c my company sits alongside GKN, now Melrose; we sit alongside Rolls Royce and MBDA, and we have the Ministry of Defence which is just down the road.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not just that. The supply chain in the south west is absolutely massive \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 150,000 jobs rely on our aerospace industry in the region alone. At Airbus, we take on hundreds of apprentices every year, my husband works in Airbus, my son works in the engineering industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c my whole family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life depends on it, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not the only one in this situation.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0174\"<\/p>\n

Steel<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite convenor for British Steel Martin Foster highlighted his concerns over tariffs in the event of a no deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFifty per cent of our order books\u00c2\u00a0are with EU customers,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf we have to pay tariffs on those orders that would kill the steel industry. There is a very serious risk that British Steel would go under if leave the EU without a deal.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Martin said that most people don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realise how vital steel is for the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economy and infrastructure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeople tend to underestimate the versatility and flexibility of steel. Everybody sees the big ships and the buildings that we live in but nobody notices the small things like the keys in your pocket, the watch on your wrist, your fridge and freezer. All these things have got steel in them and it supports an awful lot of industries, in particular the automotive industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Foster added that if British Steel were to close, the impact would be devastating for the local community in Scunthorpe.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve all seen what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s happened in Redcar when [the steelworks] closed. The fear is if we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t secure a buyer in the current liquidation process of British Steel, Scunthorpe will go the same way as Redcar. Scunthorpe isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite the town it used to be and to lose the biggest private employer in the town would be absolutely devastating.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"IMG_0178\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stop no deal<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Labour MPs joined Unite reps outside Parliament to show their support in opposing a no deal Brexit, including shadow secretary for international trade Barry Gardiner (pictured above).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gardiner lambasted the new prime minister Boris Johnson, who has previously said he would accept a no deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a man who says he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s quite comfortable taking this country out of Europe \u00e2\u20ac\u201c our closest trading and security relationship with our closest neighbours \u00e2\u20ac\u201c without any agreement in place,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat would be devastating for the lives of workers in this country whose jobs depend on a just in time supply chain, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s devastating for our public services, and for the economy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gardiner vowed that Labour would \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdo everything\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 to stop a no deal Brexit.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Unite reps lobbied MPs later in the afternoon to press their case that a no deal Brexit must be taken off the table. The lobby comes just as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) published a new industrial trends survey this week showing UK manufacturing output had declined at its fastest pace in a decade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nineteen per cent of manufacturers said output was up and 30 per cent said it was down, giving a deficit of 11 per cent \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the lowest since July 2009 when Britain had just emerged from the deep recession that followed the financial crisis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The measure of firms\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 confidence about the general business situation was 32 per cent, the lowest since July 2016, just after the EU referendum.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Our jobs matter’<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe latest CBI industrial trends figures underline what Unite representatives across UK manufacturing have been saying about the Brexit uncertainty gripping manufacturing and point to the devastation a no deal Brexit will do to the livelihoods of millions of workers who depend on UK manufacturing to pay the bills and put food on the table.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He called on prime minister Boris Johnson to take a no deal Brexit off the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe needs to listen to the message that Unite manufacturing reps, representing over half a million workers, delivered in Parliament today.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur jobs and our communities matter, Boris Johnson must take no deal off the table and get a deal with the European Union that secures frictionless trade and tariff free access with Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite manufacturing reps from up and down the country descended on Parliament today (July 24) to lobby MPs about the threat of a no deal Brexit.   Brandishing placards reading \u00e2\u20ac\u0098No Deal, No Way\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, the shop stewards from industries across manufacturing, including steel, aerospace and automotive among others stood united in their opposition against a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[55,1187],"wps_subtitle":"Unite manufacturing reps lobby MPs against no deal Brexit","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18513"}],"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=18513"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18513\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25119,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18513\/revisions\/25119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}