March For Jobs- Birmingham Demo - 16th May

Jobs must come first, as Unite announces March for Jobs

A massive march for jobs through the UK’s manufacturing heartland has been called by Unite, in a major effort to ensure that action to protect jobs and skills is first among the government’s recession-beating priorities.

The March through central Birmingham in May is announced as the jobs toll in manufacturing ticks towards 20,000 skilled jobs gone in the six months since the slump took hold, added to the tens of thousands more lost in financial services and other key sectors, and amid fears that not enough is being done to save jobs in critical parts of the economy.

Announcing the March, Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite said: “Workers did not cause this recession but they are paying for it hand over fist with their jobs.

“Twenty thousand jobs have disappeared from manufacturing since this recession took hold, and thousands more in finance and other core sectors. Unemployment blights lives and leaves communities in despair so we will not stand by while our jobs and the very skills that will help pull us out of this downturn are swept away by the recession tide.

“People desperately need some assurance that they will remain in work and can keep a roof over their families' heads, and companies cannot keep the lights on in factories with promises alone. No more delay - we need action now or we will see our skills base and vital manufacturing sector shattered for a generation.”

The union is joined in its call for action by leading figures in the business world, including ex-CBI chief and former government minister Lord Digby Jones and Paul Everitt, the CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers, as well as Jon Cruddas MP and Professor David Bailey from the Birmingham University Business school, in pressing for manufacturing to be restored to the heart of the economy.

Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Unite, added: “If the state’s help is good enough for the banks, then it is surely good enough for the UK’s workers.

“Right across the economy, from the car industry to the financial sector, fear of unemployment is stalking our communities and wrecking confidence. A clear plan now from government to support the skilled jobs and businesses of which this country can be rightly proud, to save jobs and stimulate consumer demand, will be effort and money well spent.

“Investment now will show that jobs and people that come first, and will demonstrate to workers that government hears their fears and is on their side.”

The March is set to take place on Saturday, May 16th through Birmingham city centre and will be the centrepiece of the union’s Unite for Jobs campaign to secure urgent and strategic action to defend jobs within the beleaguered manufacturing sector, including:

* The urgent implementation of a temporary short time working compensation scheme to save the jobs hundreds of thousands of skilled workers and sustain our manufacturing base in the immediate term. A joint proposal from the TUC and the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) estimated that a £1.2bn package of wage subsidies would save some 600,000 jobs.
* Speedier access to credit from the banks, again to ensure immediate support for manufacturing businesses;
* Extra government financing for the sector, in keeping with the levels of assistance provided to manufacturers by overseas competitors;
* Action to stimulate consumer demand, including a car scrappage scheme coupled with improved access to finance for buyers;
* A national strategy for jobs to ensure we have a clear road map out of this recession, to create secure, skilled work and which places manufacturing at its heart.

Unite is urging the swift introduction of a short-time working subsidy, citing its past effectiveness as proof that it can save jobs and key skills. Such a scheme was last used in the recession of the late 1970s/early 1980s and helped save thousands of jobs in demand-sensitive industries, which at the time were textiles and footwear. The Temporary Employment Scheme (TES) came into operation in August 1975 and at its height in 1977 covered 190,000 people. It was estimated in 1982 that around 39% of jobs covered had been saved.

Put the date in your diary, and pass on this information to your Unite Branch's, Workplaces, Activists Committee's.