You can't get me, I'm part of the union...
I've held off commenting on the various things going on in the news on the basis that I might be ranting too much, but as I seem to be good at it, I might as well carry on.
Firstly, I'm not entirely surprised by Tony Woodley's sabre-rattling about a car plant potentially running out of money and closing with the loss of 6000+ jobs. I don't think that he's exaggerating the danger too much, but I'm not entirely sure that I agree with his tactics. This government has shown that it's not really going to listen to anything the unions say, and is going to treat whatever they do say as scare-mongering. I can half see Mandelson's point, that rumours can be dangerous and bring about the very thing which they are seeking to avoid; but on the other hand, why pretend everything's fine when it isn't? Particularly when this government is showing no signs of acting.
My personal opinion, which isn't endorsed by anyone, although I don't seem to be the only one thinking like this, is that the above warning is likely to apply to Vauxhall, who have a plant in Ellesmere Port. Given that Vauxhall's parent group GM is in the process of cutting Saab loose to fend for itself and file for bankruptcy protection, I would not be surprised to see the Yanks take the same tactic with Vauxhall/Opel. GM has made an announcement that 47,000 jobs are likely to be cut worldwide, and it's a fair bet that GM will act to protect its US core, at the expense of other areas.
Actually, seeing as GM has managed to butcher Saab's character and turn them into Vauxhall clones, I really hope that Saab will do well. It's a strong brand with individuality, that used to stand for excellent engineering as well, so I do hope that they can regain some of that.
In other news, I haven't commented on the loss of 850 jobs at BMW's Mini plant in Cowley. While I have sympathy for anyone losing their job, there are two points which I think the unions have forgotten. Firstly, agency staff are paid a bit more than their permanent counterparts, as the short notice is written into their contracts; essentially, they have no job security. Secondly, my experience of having worked in a manufacturing area is that you wouldn't want to give them any more than an hour's notice anyway; there will always be a minority who will do something stupid. I have heard of cars being scratched, parts not fitted properly, and in extreme cases engines sabotaged (causing several thousand pounds worth of damage) by people who have been told they're about to lose their jobs. Put simply, it's in the company's best interest to fire them then get them out ASAP. In any case, I have been told that BMW gave the workers a week's pay, which while not a huge amount, is at least better than nothing, I suppose. I can understand why they would feel used, but legally they haven't got much ground to stand on. If they wanted better terms and conditions, they should have gone permanent.
And finally.... I welcome this report, but I sincerely doubt that this government is going to do anything about it. Probably because the unions have endorsed it, and because it doesn't understand manufacturing. Actually, I doubt if anyone in government actually understands economics, to be honest, but there we go. I wouldn't pretend to understand economics either, but I do understand that exporting goods brings money into this country.
I tend to not like pictorial representations of things, but this is somewhat concerning...
I'm not going to comment about bailouts. Not again. Besides, I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm hungry.
Firstly, I'm not entirely surprised by Tony Woodley's sabre-rattling about a car plant potentially running out of money and closing with the loss of 6000+ jobs. I don't think that he's exaggerating the danger too much, but I'm not entirely sure that I agree with his tactics. This government has shown that it's not really going to listen to anything the unions say, and is going to treat whatever they do say as scare-mongering. I can half see Mandelson's point, that rumours can be dangerous and bring about the very thing which they are seeking to avoid; but on the other hand, why pretend everything's fine when it isn't? Particularly when this government is showing no signs of acting.
My personal opinion, which isn't endorsed by anyone, although I don't seem to be the only one thinking like this, is that the above warning is likely to apply to Vauxhall, who have a plant in Ellesmere Port. Given that Vauxhall's parent group GM is in the process of cutting Saab loose to fend for itself and file for bankruptcy protection, I would not be surprised to see the Yanks take the same tactic with Vauxhall/Opel. GM has made an announcement that 47,000 jobs are likely to be cut worldwide, and it's a fair bet that GM will act to protect its US core, at the expense of other areas.
Actually, seeing as GM has managed to butcher Saab's character and turn them into Vauxhall clones, I really hope that Saab will do well. It's a strong brand with individuality, that used to stand for excellent engineering as well, so I do hope that they can regain some of that.
In other news, I haven't commented on the loss of 850 jobs at BMW's Mini plant in Cowley. While I have sympathy for anyone losing their job, there are two points which I think the unions have forgotten. Firstly, agency staff are paid a bit more than their permanent counterparts, as the short notice is written into their contracts; essentially, they have no job security. Secondly, my experience of having worked in a manufacturing area is that you wouldn't want to give them any more than an hour's notice anyway; there will always be a minority who will do something stupid. I have heard of cars being scratched, parts not fitted properly, and in extreme cases engines sabotaged (causing several thousand pounds worth of damage) by people who have been told they're about to lose their jobs. Put simply, it's in the company's best interest to fire them then get them out ASAP. In any case, I have been told that BMW gave the workers a week's pay, which while not a huge amount, is at least better than nothing, I suppose. I can understand why they would feel used, but legally they haven't got much ground to stand on. If they wanted better terms and conditions, they should have gone permanent.
And finally.... I welcome this report, but I sincerely doubt that this government is going to do anything about it. Probably because the unions have endorsed it, and because it doesn't understand manufacturing. Actually, I doubt if anyone in government actually understands economics, to be honest, but there we go. I wouldn't pretend to understand economics either, but I do understand that exporting goods brings money into this country.
I tend to not like pictorial representations of things, but this is somewhat concerning...
I'm not going to comment about bailouts. Not again. Besides, I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm hungry.