Unite Steps Up Aid Call for UK's Beleaguered Car Industry Amid Fears for 70,000 Jobs

LONDON, January 5, 2009: Unite, the UK's biggest union, today (Monday, 5th January) reiterated its calls to the Government to waste no more time in putting together a package to save Britain's car industry. The union is urging the Government to move quickly to ensure that at least 70,000 car workers and their families are not made to pay the price for City greed and recklessness.

The call comes as the UK car industry continues an extended shutdown that will see plants closed across the UK, and amid mounting fears that the car and components sector, including iconic national car brands, will be devastated unless the UK Government follows the approach of the US and other administrations and establishes a programme of strategic financial assistance.

Writing in local Midlands and Merseyside papers, joint general secretary of Unite, Tony Woodley says: "2009 is going to be a difficult year. We start it heading into what may prove to be the deepest recession any of us have seen.

"That means anxiety for millions of working people - not least those employed in or dependent on the motor industry and its long supply chain, very many of them working at Vauxhall, Land Rover and Jaguar plants on Merseyside and in Birmingham.

"Car workers and their families should not have to pay the price for the economic storm.

"This was a crisis made in the City - not on Merseyside or in the Midlands. The blame lies with the greedy bankers and certainly not with the skilled, hard-working employees of Jaguar, Land Rover and Vauxhall.

"The case for helping the British car industry is straight-forward. It is by-and-large profitable with strong product and faces no problems of the scale it does in the USA.

"Our industry is on the ropes because of market collapse, particularly for the sort of high-value vehicles produced by Jaguar and Land Rover.

"That demand will recover when the world economy starts to move forward once more. And when it does, Britain needs to have its iconic brands in place to respond.

"That means keeping factories open and our skilled workforce in employment. Anything else means that the demand will be met from other countries and at least 70,000 manufacturing jobs will be gone for good.

"So there is a strong business case as well as an overwhelming social justice case for government help for the motor industry. That has been recognised in many other countries, including Germany, France and the USA itself.

"Ministers have rightly argued that the owners of Jaguar Land Rover - the Indian company Tata - should play its part and put serious money into the company. I am delighted that it is doing so.

"So now is the moment for Gordon Brown to be bold and give our car industry the sort of backing already offered to the financial services and construction sectors - backing it would never get from do-nothing free-market Tories.

"One lesson of this crisis is that Britain needs a strong manufacturing sector. Over-reliance on finance has got us into this mess - let's give the car industry the chance to help us get out of it."