Members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, employed at the GKN
Drivelines factory in Erdington Birmingham, have announced that
they will begin all out continuous strike action later this
month, as part of their ongoing battle to keep the factory open.
All out continuous strikes will begin on Monday 27 September.
In January the parent company Melrose GKN announced that the
factory, which makes drivelines for much of the UK’s automotive
sector, would close in 2022 with the loss of over 500 jobs, with
the work being offshored to Poland and France.
Earlier this month Unite announced that its members had recorded
a 95 per cent yes vote in favour of strike action.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “GKN’s cynical
attempt to close its Erdrington plant is a disgrace. We will not
stand by and let this employer offshore British jobs without a
fight. We will leave no stone unturned in the ongoing battle to
ensure the future of the Birmingham factory and our members.”
The union initially delayed issuing strike action and instead
arranged a meeting with all interested parties to reach agreement
on future production and support. However Melrose GKN refused to
attend the meeting after initially accepting an invitation to do
so.
As a consequence Unite had no option but to initiate strike
action.
Due to the ‘just in time’ nature of the automotive industry
supply chain, strike action will very quickly affect production
at several of the UK’s car plants, primarily Jaguar Land Rover,
but Nissan and Toyota will also be heavily affected.
The GKN Driveline factory should be primed to be playing a key
role in the electrification of the UK’s automotive sector,
building the new propulsion units needed in electric vehicles.
Unite understands that Melrose GKN has received millions of
pounds of taxpayers money for research and development at its
centre in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.
Unite believes that if Melrose GKN is not going to employ UK
workers in the areas in manufacturing where it is developing new
technology, then not only should all UK government support be
frozen, but previous money that the company has received should
be repaid.
Unite national officer Des Quinn said: “Melrose GKN has grave
questions to answer, if it has taken government money for
research and development and now intends to use what it has
developed abroad, that is a betrayal of the workforce, a betrayal
of Birmingham and a betrayal of UK taxpayers.”
Since 2018 GKN has been owned by venture capitalists Melrose.
Melrose’s purchase of GKN was highly controversial. In response
to fears that GKN was going to be asset stripped, it promised
shareholders and investors that it would establish a ‘UK
manufacturing powerhouse’.
