{"id":6566,"date":"2015-10-30T16:33:12","date_gmt":"2015-10-30T16:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=6566"},"modified":"2015-10-30T16:34:19","modified_gmt":"2015-10-30T16:34:19","slug":"commitment-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=6566","title":{"rendered":"Commitment please"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A national commission on infrastructure, which will oversee spending on major projects such as road, rail and flood defence improvements, was launched by chancellor George Osborne today (October 30) in York.<\/p>\n

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The launch of the commission comes in the wake of the previous coalition government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failed record on infrastructure spending \u00e2\u20ac\u201c since Osborne took the reins as chancellor in 2010, promising to spend on major projects to jumpstart an economic recovery, infrastructure investment has plummeted by more than 5 per cent.<\/p>\n

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Chaired by former Labour transport secretary Lord Adonis, the commission will oversee a \u00c2\u0141100bn budget to be spent by 2020 and will prioritise projects such as improving connections between northern cities, London transport, and energy.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is about jobs, growth, living standards and ensuring Britain is fit for the future,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Osborne said at the launch at the National Railway Museum in York. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bInfrastructure isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t some obscure concept, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lives, economic security and the kind of country we want to live in.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m determined to shake Britain out of its inertia on infrastructure and end the situation where we trail our rivals when it comes to building everything from the housing to the power stations that our children will need.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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But Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke argued that any successful infrastructure plans must include a commitment to the UK steel industry, now on the brink of collapse<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf George Osborne is to be true to his word that the commission is about jobs, growth and making Britain fit the future, then he will make sure that it pursues a policy that puts British steel and British manufacturing at the heart of major infrastructure projects,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

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On the brink <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe failure of the government to intervene to support the steel industry and develop an active industrial strategy has left the industry on the brink.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf the commission repeats that failure and refuses to adopt \u00e2\u20ac\u0098a made in Britain, bought by Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 approach then it would be the final insult to steel and manufacturing communities across the UK and undermine George Osborne\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hopes on jobs and growth,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Burke added.<\/p>\n

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Labour MPs echoed Burke\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s call to the government to support the steel industry through its infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n

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Labour MP Nic Dakin for Scunthorpe, a community now reeling from the announcement of 1,200 job losses in the steel industry, commented on Twitter this afternoon regarding the new infrastructure commission.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015b\u00e2\u20ac\u0098We must be the builders,\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 say the Tories,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he tweeted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut if they don’t act quickly they won’t have any UK steel to build with.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Dakin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments follow Labour MP Dan Jarvis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 letter to Lord Adonis, calling on the new infrastructure commission chair to act.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bGeorge Osborne told the Tory conference they were \u00e2\u20ac\u0098the builders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 but this is a cowboy effort,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Jarvis said. “The Chancellor needs to show that his rhetoric will be matched by reality.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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More jobs lost <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The launch of the infrastructure commission comes against a backdrop of another spate of steel job losses, as Caparo administrators confirmed this afternoon (October 30) that more jobs would go in the West Midlands and the North East.<\/p>\n

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The closure of Caparo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Darlaston site and loss of 119 jobs is yet another body blow for manufacturing in the Wolverhampton area and comes on top of the announced closure of Goodyear with the loss of 300 jobs. A further 39 jobs are to go from Caparo in the West Midlands at its precision tubes division in Oldbury.<\/p>\n

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In Hartlepool the closure of Caparo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s forging facility will result in up to 70 jobs going, while in Wrexham 10 jobs are being cut at Caparo wire, taking the total job losses confirmed to date in the group to 238.<\/p>\n

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Oceans away <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

While the UK government has so far refused to intervene as the steel industry crumbles, a government an ocean away has stepped in to help aerospace manufacturer Bombadier, which operates a site in Belfast and is among the largest single employers in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

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After the Canadian multinational company Bombadier experienced delays in generating sales for its CSeries jet, the company was under intense financial pressure, leading many to speculate about the manufacturer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future.<\/p>\n

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But the Quebec government announced today (October 30) a $1bn cash injection in a joint-venture with the company to help the aerospace giant weather the storm.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are hopeful that this investment by the Quebec government will give Bombardier the time to achieve its sales targets for the CSeries and will safeguard the long-term employment of the workforce [in Northern Ireland],\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite regional coordinating officer Davy Thompson.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite commends the Quebec government on their willingness to intervene to support this strategically important industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTheir action demonstrates how government can safeguard employment and support the manufacturing sector.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Join us in the fight to save our steel so that Britain can reclaim its proud history as a manufacturing powerhouse. Sign the petition here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

A national commission on infrastructure, which will oversee spending on major projects such as road, rail and flood defence improvements, was launched by chancellor George Osborne today (October 30) in York.   The launch of the commission comes in the wake of the previous coalition government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failed record on infrastructure spending \u00e2\u20ac\u201c since Osborne took […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6568,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[430,269],"wps_subtitle":"Osborne\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s plans must commit to steel","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566"}],"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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6566"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6571,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6566\/revisions\/6571"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}