Conference voices support for Jaguar workers
The Labour Party conference has voted by a show of hands to send a message of support to the workers at Jaguar.
Ford’s decision to end production at the Browns Lane plant has been a hot topic at the conference today, with delegates frequently bringing it up in debates and ministers voicing their support.
The emergency motion, jointly tabled by the T&G and Amicus, attacked Jaguar for making the announcement without prior consultation with the workforce, in defiance of previous agreements, and warns that the production plant ‘s job losses will inevitably threaten research and development jobs at Jaguar too.
Tabling the motion, delegates called the decision an “outrage” and called for a change in the law so that we “can fight back”.
Bob Ainsworth, the local MP, warned that any end to production would be a “huge mistake” saying that the plant has the best performance record within the Jaguar group.
The MP for Coventry North said that any end of production would also damage the company’s commercial prospects, saying it would lose the historic heritage that allows Jaguar to sell cars.
He sharply criticised the company for refusing to share the financial justification for the decision and failing to consult with the workforce, saying: “That is not the way for a reputable employer to do business”.
Anne Lucas, a delegate from the West Midlands, said that Ford had promised them “time and time again” that the Browns Lane plant had a future, and even used the plant as a model of excellence in its negotiations with Land Rover workers.
But, she argued: “Ford’s promises don’t have the class and reliability of the Jaguar.”
As a local councillor, she promised to fight any attempt to re-designate the land from industrial to commercial so it could be sold, saying that the decision to end production is a “wound at the very heart of the community”.
The GMB’s delegate urged the Government to intervene to save the plant, which he described as the “engine room of UK manufacturing”.
He warned that the future of the plant had a far greater significance for UK manufacturing as a whole, warning that: “Our manufacturing skill base has a critical mass which if it were to shrink any further would threaten the future of manufacturing”.
