Strike Threats Made By Union At Rolls Royce

29 April 2015, 17:27 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

A union's warned there could be strike at Derbyshire based Rolls-Royce.

Unite said it will resist any compulsory redundancies in the firm's aerospace division "by every means open to us''.

The union said jobs could be lost at sites in the UK from as early as July.

Letter Sent To Chief Exec

In a letter to the company's chief executive, John Rishton, Unite accused Rolls-Royce of off-shoring UK manufacturing jobs, saying: "Given the company's order book and level of profit, we see no reason for the proposed job losses in the UK other than they are the result of choices the company has made to move work elsewhere. This is nothing less than the export of UK manufacturing jobs.

"We therefore wish to give you notice that we will not tolerate compulsory redundancies in the UK, whether through workload reductions, management reviews, outsourcing or off-shoring.
"We will resist compulsory redundancies by every means open to us, including industrial action.''

Staff At 'Snapping Point'

Unite national officer Ian Waddell said: "The UK workforce is world class and has proved time again to be at the cutting edge of engineering and manufacturing.

"They have shown their loyalty in building up Rolls-Royce, but are now feeling increasingly betrayed over the company's continued refusal to give assurances on jobs and guarantees over redundancies.

"The workforce is at snapping point and industrial action will become a very real possibility unless Rolls-Royce gives a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.''