Workers will Unite for Jobs in Birmingham for a nationwide fight
back
7th May 2009
One week to go until
march
With almost 1 in 10 unemployed in the West Midlands, thousands
of workers from the region and throughout the UK will gather in the
heart of Birmingham on 16th May to push for more government action
to save jobs.
The nationwide march and rally is being organised by Unite, the
UK’s biggest union, and is the centrepiece of the Unite for Jobs
campaign. Unite is pressing for measures such as a short-time
subsidy which would allow people to stay in their jobs and keep
their homes.
The march will take place through Birmingham city centre and
unemployment across the region now stands at 223,000.
Manufacturing jobs have been hit the hardest, accounting for 88
per cent of the region’s job losses. Household name manufacturers
such as Jaguar Land Rover, GKN and LDV have all announced large
scale redundancies in the region leaving scars in the local
economy.
The West Midlands has the third highest manufacturing turnover
in the UK with more than 100,000 workers employed in vehicle
manufacturing and the motor components sector.
Unite regional secretary, Gerard Coyne, said: “This is a chance
for the West Midlands to lead a national fight back on jobs. 20,000
jobs have disappeared from manufacturing since the recession took
hold with thousands more lost in finance and other core
sectors.
“Our members in the West Midlands did not cause this recession
but are paying for it with their jobs. Unite will not stand by
while these vital jobs and the skills, critical to helping us out
of this downturn, are lost.
“Our message is that jobs and people must come first. The march
through Birmingham on the 16th will demonstrate the strength of
feeling and commitment people have to fight for their jobs and
futures.”
Mr. Stein, Unite member and finance worker from Coventry, added:
“People just want to work. I will be marching with my family to
show that jobs matter and must come first. Surely it’s better to
invest in jobs rather than let people languish on the dole and have
the pay out billions in benefits.”
ENDS
For further information contact Mark Di-Toro in the Unite press
office on 07918 640 579
NOTES:
National unemployment has now risen to 6.7%
To see what the Unite for Jobs demands are or for information on
the march visit: http://action.unitetheunion.org
Email to a friend
