Union Leader Vows Every Support for Jaguar Land Rover Workers

LONDON, January 13, 2009: Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, will meet Jaguar Land Rover workers at the car manufacturer's Castle Bromwich and Solihull plants today (January 13th), where he will tell the workers that Unite will be doing everything in its power to support manufacturing workers during the financial downturn.

Unite is reiterating its call for a GBP13 billion strategic support package from Government, similar to the support provided last year by the German, French and Swedish governments to their manufacturing sector, as it emerges that the German government is to provide further strategic and financial support to its manufacturing sector.

Unite joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: "The workers at Jaguar Land Rover are world class, they build outstanding products and exemplify British skill at its best.

"There are many other productive and efficient manufacturing companies like JLR across the Midlands in need of short term support to help them through the credit crunch. Government's including those in the US, Germany, France and Sweden, have granted support and we are calling on the Government to give viable British manufacturing companies similar help so that we do not lose the world-beating skills essential to ensuring this country emerges from the recession as a leading economy.

"It has been an extremely bleak beginning to the new year and there is no doubt that 2009 is going to be very tough for working families across the country. Unions, the Government and business need to work together to support British jobs and British skills through strategic intervention."

The union has welcomed the Government's recent announcement to expand apprenticeships, and the support Gordon Brown announced yesterday to help 500,000 people into work or training who had been unemployed for more than six months.

At the end of 2008, Unite the union presented Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling with ten key priorities as part of government action to spend its way out of the credit crunch and kick-start the faltering economy. The Government has already announced protection for homeowners, investments in public infrastructure and increased spending, a cut in VAT and a new 45% higher income tax rate.

Mr Simpson continued: "Gordon Brown and the Government are progressively building on their package of support for Britain. There is more work to be done, particularly in the shape of strategic support for British manufacturing, but they are undoubtedly working hard to support British families.

"Under the Tories, however, we would see this recession last until doomsday. When they are not being the do-nothing party, they are the cut-something party."