Aerospace and Shipbuilding Reps Statement on Unite GS Election

LES BAYLISS FOR UNITE GENERAL SECRETARY


28/07/2010

AEROSPACE & SHIPBUILDING


MESSAGE FROM KEY REPS AND ACTIVISTS IN THE SECTOR

Aerospace and shipbuilding employs 300,000 people in the UK. These livelihoods depend primarily on government defence contracts that have been hard won. Unite has historically played an important role in securing this investment into our industry through government lobbying and by winning public support through long running campaigns.

All this is now under threat. The Tories budget cuts threaten major defence projects going forward. These could easily account for the loss 100,000 jobs. Now more than ever we need a leader at the head of our union that is dedicated to defend our sector and our industry.

The candidate we’re supporting in the forthcoming General Secretary is Les Bayliss. Les is a time served engineer with 40 years membership of the union. He has shown total support for our industry and pledges to keep campaigning to protect our members’ jobs when he is GS.

The other candidates and their supporters are openly hostile to the defence industry and in particular to replacement of Trident and the Eurofighter project. They also reject the union’s sectoral structure that allows us to set our own industrial policy without interference from other groups. Les is determined to keep the current structure as the only way to represent all the members’ interests in such a diverse organisation.

Les is also pledged to dramatically improve the level of service to members and to increase support and education for workplace reps.

You can find out more about Les Bayliss at www.les4gs.org

Yours fraternally


Duncan McPhee NISC Member, Convenor BAe Systems Surface Ships - Clyde

Raymond Duguid NISC Member, Convenor Babcock Marine - Rosyth

Roy Cartwright Convenor Manuals BAe Systems - Brough

Brian Rice Convenor Bombardier - Belfast

Jimmy Neil Executive Council Member, Senior Shop Steward Bombardier - Belfast

Jim Thompson NISC Member, Convenor Manuals Selex - Edinburgh

Ian Gent NISC Member, Convenor Staff BAe Systems - Brough

Jim Cull Convenor Staff Selex - Edinburgh

Mike Lowe NISC Member, Senior Shop Steward Airbus - Broughton

Terry Dillon NISC Member, Convenor Airbus - Broughton

Walt Stasyszyn NISC Member, Convenor GKN - Isle of White

Norman Banfield Convenor Honeywell - Yeovil

Ray Bazeley Executive Council Member, Convenor Rolls Royce - Bristol

David Kane NISC Member, Convenor Thales - Belfast

Derek Torrie NISC Member, Convenor Babcock - Faslane

Visit the Les Bayliss websites

www.les4gs.org www.les4gsnw.co.uk www.workersunitinggroup.com