THE crisis at Alstom train building in Derby, the essential centre of the whole industry in Britain, is now nearing its climax — which looks likely to result in its closure, the loss of 17,000 jobs in the works and the supply chain, and the end of Britain’s 170-year-old industry.
Now, at well beyond the 11th hour — at one minute to midnight — Unite the Union, which has been making representations to the deaf ear of government for 11 months alongside GMB and RMT, is calling for a united front of all unions in a last-ditch campaign to save the industry.
Unite’s emergency resolution to Midlands TUC AGM conference in Derby today says: “This conference calls on the TUC and the Midlands TUC to campaign to secure the last fully integrated train manufacturing site in the UK. The facility is on the brink of closure due to government inaction.