Britain’s largest union, Unite hailed the pivotal role played by
its Rolls-Royce shop stewards and members in securing a new large
engine test bed facility after the engine maker announced it was
investing £150 million in its plants in Derby, Hucknall and
Annesley in the East Midlands. Potentially leading to further
investment, which is expected to be worth several hundreds of
millions of pounds across the whole of Rolls-Royce’s UK operations,
today’s (Thursday 29 June) announcement...Request free trial
Britain’s largest union, Unite hailed the pivotal role played by
its Rolls-Royce shop stewards and members in securing a new large
engine test bed facility after the engine maker announced it was
investing £150 million in its plants in Derby, Hucknall and
Annesley in the East Midlands.
Potentially leading to further investment, which is expected to be
worth several hundreds of millions of pounds across the whole of
Rolls-Royce’s UK operations, today’s (Thursday 29 June)
announcement effectively secures the manufacturing base of
Roll-Royce in the UK for the next 20 years, along with 7,000 high
quality jobs.
Unite had been campaigning for a new large engine test bed to be
built in the UK to develop the next generation of aircraft engines.
As part of the investment Unite has signed a job security agreement
which means there will be no compulsory redundancies at the three
East Midland sites for the next five years.
A new joint management trade union strategic workforce panel will
also be established to review, in advance, decisions on workload
and workforce planning, in addition to capacity restraints and
investments by the company.
Commenting Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: “The
announcement of a new engine test bed and millions of pounds in
investment is the culmination of a campaign by Unite members and
shop stewards to convince Rolls-Royce to invest in the UK.
“There were real fears that future investment could go overseas,
but thanks to the skills, capabilities and adaptability of
Rolls-Royce’s UK workforce, thousands of jobs have been
secured.
“This massive vote of confidence in a world leading workforce will
also mean more high quality apprenticeships and secure
Rolls-Royce’s manufacturing base in the UK for the next 20
years.”
Unite general secretary Len McCluskey added: “This is great
news for a world beating workforce making world class engines and
testament to the hardwork of Unite’s shop stewards and members.
“It is a good day for British manufacturing that must not be undone
by a botched Brexit.
“The government must now play its part by pursuing a ‘jobs first’
Brexit and securing tariff-free access to the single market and
customs union. A failure to do so, risks future investment and
decent high quality manufacturing jobs.”
