Midlands march to protest job losses

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 union for British car workers, 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 vehicle manufacturers 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.”

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