Rover families demonstrate at Downing Street
Families of the workers threatened by redundancy at Rover have marched on Downing Street today to try and secure their futures.
The jobs of 6,000 workers at the car manufacturer’s Longbridge plant in the West Midlands have been assured for this week thanks to a £6.5 million Government loan.
But their future, and that of their families, remains deeply uncertain following the collapse of talks between MG Rover and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC).
Administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers are continuing talks with the Chinese company since taking control of MG Rover last week but have yet to report any progress.
Employees have been told that they will receive a redundancy package of £280 for every year worked at the company, up to a maximum of 12 years.
Today’s protests were aimed at showing workers’ objections to this package, which will leave employees with a maximum of £3,360.
The demonstrators, seen off by many of the men and women still working at Longbridge, also pleaded with the Government to step up its efforts to reach a new deal with SAIC.
One banner held by a protestor summed up the group’s feelings. It read: “My husband gave 31 years to Rover. What will Rover give to my husband to survive for the next 31 years?”
