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Save Honda Swindon!
Honda's 3,500 Swindon workers and a further 12,000 or more across the supply chain urgently need our support, argues STEVE TURNER
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TOMORROW I am joining thousands of Honda workers and their families and those from the surrounding area in marching though Swindon as part of the fight to keep Honda in the town and secure the future of 15,000 workers and their families.
When Honda announced its plan to shut its Swindon plant in 2021 it was a hammer blow to the local community — but it is a fight we can win with a clear industrial and political strategy.
If the planned closure goes ahead it will mean the loss of 3,500 direct jobs and a staggering further 12,000 in the wider supply chain with the repercussions being felt across the whole region and beyond. Our postcode profile of the workforce shows their pay is spent not just in Swindon, but Milford Haven, Boston and Bristol.
The Welsh government estimates there are 150 companies based in Wales alone in the Honda supply chain. It would deal a further blow to our manufacturing industries and in particular this country’s automotive sector, which employs more than 850,000 people through more than 30 manufacturers, 2,500 component suppliers alongside design, research and innovation facilities.
Despite its importance to our country’s economic future, it is also a sector that finds itself at the centre of several cross winds.
The skills and knowledge of our automotive workforce should place us at the forefront of future technology in green electric, hydrogen and other zero emission vehicle production — the future global market for which is growing. Yet we are falling behind the global race to transition to this technology. To put it in perspective, our government is pledging £246 million to support battery development while the French have committed to investing €2.5 billion (£2.14bn) over 10 years.
This government’s chaotic handling of Brexit has led to deep and ongoing uncertainty — at the time of writing it is impossible to know what to write that will not have dated by publication. The chaos created by this government’s Brexit seeps into all areas of public policy, fatally holing any attempt at a coherent industrial strategy below the water line. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) estimate that company investment in the industry in this country has fallen 80 per cent since 2016. This has been coupled with the government’s foolhardy approach to diesel manufacturers and their workers here, amounting to a gross act of industrial sabotage.
None of this had to happen of course and highlights yet again the very real urgency of achieving a Labour government. We need an end to the Brexit paralysis and the implementation of a radically transformative industrial strategy that will place us amongst the winners in the global transition to new technologies, not left trailing behind with the consequences felt across the economy in the loss of jobs, skills and world class innovation.
At the same time Unite is working tirelessly to defend our members in the here and now. The march and rally today is the latest in a series of actions to persuade Honda not to leave Swindon or desert its skilled and dedicated workforce. Our letter to Honda CEO Takahiro Hachigo has reached over 16,000 signatures and everyone should email their MP asking them to sign our Parliamentary Early Day Motion 2220 (“Closure of the Honda Swindon Plant”).
The Labour front bench have met with our Honda members and our shop stewards have been discussing with the government a proposal aimed at securing a new decision that could see the plant remain open. We are determined to keep fighting to save the 15,000 jobs the Swindon plant supports as part of our fight for the future of the industry in this country itself. We can’t do it alone — join us!
Steve Turner is Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing
You can join the #SaveHondaSwindon march at 11am from car park, Swindon Town FC and join the rally at 12.30pm GWR park, Faringdon Road.
Add your name to the petition at http://bit.ly/savehondaswindon
Unite campaign page is
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