{"id":26658,"date":"2020-11-20T13:17:17","date_gmt":"2020-11-20T13:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=26658"},"modified":"2020-11-20T16:20:10","modified_gmt":"2020-11-20T16:20:10","slug":"cast-iron-guarantees-on-uk-defence-spending-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=26658","title":{"rendered":"‘Cast iron guarantees’ on UK defence spending call"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unite has cautiously welcomed this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defence spending announcement \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but warned that it must be used to create and support jobs and communities in the UK amid a national employment crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday (November 19) prime minister Boris Johnson outlined a multi-year defence funding package that would see an extra \u00c2\u014116.5bn boost to the defence budget over the next four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vowing to \u00e2\u20ac\u015brestore Britain’s position as the foremost naval power in Europe,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Johnson said that the defence budget had been \u00e2\u20ac\u0098trimmed and cheese-pared\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for too long, and he had “decided that the era of cutting our defence budget must end, and it ends now”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u00e2\u20ac\u0098once in a generation modernisation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of the armed forces would, the prime minister noted, protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and create an estimated 40,000 more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boris Johnson said the extra funding would invest in new technologies, including a new artificial intelligence centre, the creation of a national cyber force, and a new “RAF space command launching British satellites and our first rocket from Scotland in 2022”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, the prime minister said that the extra spending would “spur a renaissance of British shipbuilding across the UK, in Glasgow and south Belfast, Appledore and Birkenhead”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If there is one policy which strengthens the UK in every possible sense it is building more ships for the Royal Navy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Specific mention of the Harland & Wolff shipyards in Belfast and Appledore \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both acquired by Infrastrata within the last year<\/a> \u00e2\u20ac\u201c has raised hopes that the two shipyards will be given the orders they need to thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting, Ian Waddell, general secretary of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU), of which Unite is a part, welcomed the funding announcement but said the government should also look at existing defence programmes to be fast-tracked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAny increase in funding which will create and maintain jobs in the defence and security sectors, both directly and through the supply chain, and which protects our sovereign defence capability is to be welcomed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHowever, we have written to the Government with details of nine existing defence programmes that can be fast-tracked in response to the Prime Minister\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call for shovel-ready projects which will protect 33,000 existing jobs at a cost of just \u00c2\u01412.5bn and which are already budgeted for,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Waddell added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe hope that the Government will consider the importance of investing in jobs that people currently do as well as in jobs that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet exist as part of their levelling up agenda and in order to protect the communities that rely on them outside the South East.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said that Unite would be taking a wait-and-see approach and would demand that extra defence spending must be used to protect incomes and support and create jobs in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite welcomed news in September that the government had made a major U-turn after pressure from Unite, the CSEU and other unions and indicated that the three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships now in the pipleline would be built in the UK.<\/a> But many questions yet remain over the \u00c2\u01411.5bn FSS contract, such as whether design and maintenance work would also be undertaken in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Unite will be watching closely that the recent government announcement regarding defence spending not only seeks to defend the nation but also defends the UK economy, ensuring that money is spent on UK technology, skills and jobs,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCarthy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUK design, build and maintenance must be at the forefront and baked into government contracts so we take into account the prosperity agenda, the UK supply chain and tax and NI benefits that would flow back to the treasury,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to guarded and make sure this doesn’t become about buying off the shelf from the US with little or no workshare, and little added value or building our fleet support ships with the bulk of the design, build and maintenance not being done in the UK and not using British steel, cabling and systems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Striking workers at Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick<\/a>, who are fighting the decision to outsource their jobs abroad, know all too well how defence work can be handed to other countries while UK workers lose out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting from the Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick picket line on the defence spending boost, Unite regional officer Ross Quinn told BBC Radio Lancashire, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOn the face of it for us and our members, it seems positive but we want some cast iron guarantees that the defence procurement will prioritise spending taxpayers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 money here in the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bCurrently I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m actually on the picket line in Rolls-Royce in Barnoldswick where we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing UK jobs being transferred to Singapore,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur members are taking industrial action over that. So for us there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a lot of anger here today. This is the birthplace of the jet engine; it played a huge role in the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defence and at the moment [workers] fell like they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been abandoned. So it all depends on how [the new defence spending] filters through.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner also emphasised that defence spending must benefit UK workers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and that Unite would hold the government to its word on jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe announcement on defence spending is welcome and should be good news for the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aerospace and shipbuilding sectors,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe defence secretary Ben Wallace has promised that the increased spending will benefit UK firms and we will ensure his feet are held to the fire until he delivers on this commitment,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe prime minister must provide very clear cast iron guarantees that UK defence procurement will prioritise spending taxpayers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 money here in the UK, protecting UK jobs, skills and technology. Guarantees that must extend to the supply of key components and materials such as steel and fibre-optic cabling used in these projects,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turned continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans for extending the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s space capabilities and the investment earmarked for the development of the future combat air system, should act as a shot in the arm for the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s aerospace sector, which has suffered an economic battering as a result of the Covid pandemic.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is a sovereign capability issue and our members have shown for decades they have the talent, skills and commitment to supporting our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defence to play their part in meeting this goal.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unite has cautiously welcomed this week\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s defence spending announcement \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but warned that it must be used to create and support jobs and communities in the UK amid a national employment crisis. On Thursday (November 19) prime minister Boris Johnson outlined a multi-year defence funding package that would see an extra \u00c2\u014116.5bn boost to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[519,484,1413,514],"wps_subtitle":"Unite cautiously welcomes UK defence spending boost \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but warns money must be spent to support and create UK jobs","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658"}],"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=26658"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26683,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26658\/revisions\/26683"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}