(Hayes and Harlington) (Lab):...Whether it is
Heathrow’s brutal treatment of my constituents or
Rolls-Royce’s appalling treatment of the
Barnoldswick community, we must all call upon these companies to
withdraw their threats to their employees and get back round the
table to negotiate a sensible way forward. We also now need the
Government to live up to their responsibilities to bring together
all the partners in the sector, employers and trade unions, and
then bring forward a programme for the immediate and long-term
future of aviation. It should include the support that airport and
aviation communities need immediately. I think there is a consensus
building on many of the measures that hon. Members have set out
today, but there also needs to be support as part of the just
transition to an environmental aviation policy. That will mean, in
some instances, ongoing financial wage support and retraining and
educational opportunities to assist people into alternative
employment, and, in my constituency, investment in the west London
area to rebalance our economy for the long term. What we need, in
short, is an aviation community strategy...
(Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP):...My
constituency has already seen that base butchered, with 700 jobs
axed at Rolls-Royce in Inchinnan and the remaining
600 or so of the workforce deeply anxious about the plant’s very
future. The Government’s response in my
Rolls-Royce debate was to commend the company for
carrying out redundancies voluntarily rather than by compulsion.
Our workers and our industry deserve a lot better than that. The
Scottish Government continue to try their level best to support the
sector, which also includes companies such as Spirit AeroSystems
and GE, among many others. I mentioned earlier that there is an
aerospace response group that meets fortnightly, but there is also
a separate specific Rolls-Royce working group,
which includes the company itself, trade unions, a Government
Minister and officials.
Over the past 20 years, the UK proportion of the
Rolls-Royce global workforce has been slashed.
In the year 2000, 43,700 out of 53,000, or 82%, were based in the
UK; with the latest job cuts in the system, that figure is now
down to 17,000 out of 46,500, or 36%. Over the past decade and
more, the UK Government have funded Rolls to the
tune of well over £3 billion, and around 12% of
Rolls-Royce profits have been generated as a
result of UK Government grants and tax breaks. I do not mind the
Government’s supporting companies such as
Rolls-Royce—in fact, I welcome it—but the
Government must exert a bit more influence on this offshoring
issue if they are to continue to support the business so
well...
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