{"id":9633,"date":"2016-08-26T12:42:47","date_gmt":"2016-08-26T11:42:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=9633"},"modified":"2016-08-26T12:42:47","modified_gmt":"2016-08-26T11:42:47","slug":"boris-bus-builders-jobs-freeze-slammed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=9633","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Boris bus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 builders\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 jobs freeze slammed"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Unite has slammed manufacturing firm Wrightbus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 recruitment freeze as the latest blow to Ballymena and Northern Ireland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manufacturing sector.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The bus builders are well known for manufacturing the new style \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Routemaster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which became known as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Boris bus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 after the former London mayor.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe announcement by Wrightbus management that they will impose an immediate freeze on recruitment heightens uncertainty among our membership and the wider workforce,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 commented Unite regional officer, Joanne McWilliams.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is particularly concerning given the recent closure notices in both JTI-Gallaher and Michelin \u00e2\u20ac\u201c resulting in almost two thousand direct job losses in the local economy.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Uncertainty <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But Unite also believes the failure of Northern Ireland Executive parties to agree to a stand-alone industrial strategy in the context of Brexit concerns has left the manufacturing workforce facing uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe failure of the Northern Ireland Executive to adopt a stand-alone industrial strategy means that our manufacturing workforce is exposed to the full headwinds of Brexit and continued global economic turbulence,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said McWilliams.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTowns like Ballymena risk being allowed to become post-industrial unemployment hotspots as Stormont stands idly by.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is now essential that the Executive parties reconsider their position on adopting an industrial strategy for Northern Ireland.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Unite is seeking an urgent meeting with Wrightbus on the long-term implications of the freeze.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUnite is concerned at the manner in which this announcement was made. We have requested an urgent meeting with management to discuss the long-term implications of this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McWilliams concluded.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unite has slammed manufacturing firm Wrightbus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 recruitment freeze as the latest blow to Ballymena and Northern Ireland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manufacturing sector. &nbsp; The bus builders are well known for manufacturing the new style \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Routemaster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 which became known as the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Boris bus\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 after the former London mayor. &nbsp; \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe announcement by Wrightbus management that they will impose an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9634,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[55,219],"wps_subtitle":"Unite fears further blow to NI manufacturing","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633"}],"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=9633"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9635,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9633\/revisions\/9635"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}