{"id":18698,"date":"2019-08-29T15:49:36","date_gmt":"2019-08-29T14:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=18698"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:55:36","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:55:36","slug":"manufacturing-meeting-gove-face-to-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=18698","title":{"rendered":"‘Face-to-face’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Manufacturing reps met with Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove today (August 29) to sound the alarm over the catastrophic impact a no-deal Brexit will have on their industries.<\/p>\n

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Unite and GMB convenors, representing workers from a range of manufacturing firms, from Airbus, to British Steel, Vauxhall, Rolls Royce, and more, demanded assurances on a number issues as a no-deal Brexit becomes increasingly likely<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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But union leaders and reps were left with more questions than answers after Gove failed to give any specific guarantees on concerns<\/a> such as the protection of \u00e2\u20ac\u0098just in time\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 supply chains, tariffs, anti-dumping measures, research and development, and investment decisions, among other issues \u00e2\u20ac\u201c all of which underpin the very survival of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manufacturing base post-Brexit.<\/p>\n

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Still, Gove pledged continued dialogue and a meeting between reps and prime minister Boris Johnson himself \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u201c a pledge that Unite will now pressure the Cabinet Office minister to honour.<\/p>\n

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Speaking to UniteLive after today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meeting, Unite Toyota convenor Peter Tsouvallaris said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015b[Gove] did listen but did he give us 100 per cent assurances? No he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s left in no doubt what a no deal Brexit means to my company,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy expectations were low and I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t disappointed.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy fear now is, are we simply going to be part of the collateral damage [of a no deal Brexit]?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Tsouvallaris noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey wanted today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s meeting to be from the workers. We gave them the workers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 voice. The ball is now in their court.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner agreed.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bFor the first time working people got a face-to-face meeting with Michael Gove, who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s responsible for Brexit cabinet discussions,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe laid out in no uncertain terms \u00e2\u20ac\u201c no holds barred \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the catastrophically damaging impact a no deal Brexit will have on manufacturing industries across the UK. Hundreds of thousands of direct jobs and those in the supply chain and logistics will be at risk.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is not just about tariffs and non-tariff barriers. This is about the movement of professionals; this is about future investment decisions. This is about the disaster that will follow a no-deal Brexit \u00e2\u20ac\u201c not just for the workforce but for families and our communities; for those kids who want the opportunity of an apprenticeship leading to a decent, well-paid, unionised job. Those jobs won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be here in the future; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be elsewhere in Europe.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Turner added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the assurances our members need about future job security after the 31st<\/sup> of October, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an ongoing discussion for us — but a very worthwhile one putting workers in front of government for the first time.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Here more from Steve and Unite’s manfacturing reps in the video below:<\/p>\n

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