Staff at Rolls-Royce given Christmas sack - 13-12-2007 - 15:52

Staff at a Rolls-Royce production plant in Renfrewshire have been given a pre-Christmas shock after being told they are to be laid off.

More than 80 temporary members of staff have been told they will no longer be needed from December 21st – four days before Christmas, reports the Glasgow Evening Times.

Kenny Jordan, regional secretary of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, said: "It would have been more humane if management had waited until after Christmas before letting workers go."

Rolls-Royce recently won a contract worth £4 billion for jet engines. Parts for the engines are built at the plant and it is thought the workers' engineering jobs were secure.

In contrast, 120 temporary workers at the plant are to have their jobs made permanent and 80 more will be kept on a temporary basis.

Rolls-Royce has a customer base that comprises of 160 armed forces, 600 airlines and 70 navies among others.

Its annual sales total £7.4 billion.

Nationwide protests against Rolls-Royce factory shutting - 10-12-2007 - 16:18

Protests have been held at Rolls-Royce factories across the UK in support of employees of the plant in Bootle which could be shut down.

200 jobs will be lost if the plans go ahead to close the factory which makes turbines for the oil and gas industries.

Ian Tonks, Unite national officer, said: "It is scandalous that a global employer like Rolls-Royce can abandon its loyal workforce and shift production abroad. We are doing everything in our power to defend our members' jobs on Merseyside."

He added that the union will take on any company that "attempts to exploit the UK's weak employment laws because it's cheaper, quicker and easier to cut jobs here".

Protests will last for half an hour and are taking place in Bristol, Coventry, Derby, Sunderland, Barnoldswick, East Kilbride and Inchinnan as well as Bootle.

Rolls-Royce recently announced it has won a £138 million contract for Trent 700 engines. Parts of the engines will be built in its Renfrewshire plant.

Union poster shows support for Rolls-Royce workers - 04-12-2007 - 12:01

A huge poster has been unveiled in Liverpool to help a union campaign to save a Rolls-Royce factory in the area.

The poster has the Unite union's campaign slogan "Keep Rolls-Royce pride on Merseyside" written across it and is displayed on a billboard on one of Liverpool's major roads.

Rolls-Royce announced plans to shut the factory last month, resulting in 200 jobs being lost.

Debbie Brannan, Unite regional officer, said: "Too many highly skilled jobs have already been lost on Merseyside and we will not stand by and let Rolls-Royce jobs be driven out of this city without a fight."

A petition with over 10,000 signatures on it has also been organised to protest against the closure and a day of protest has been announced by fellow Rolls-Royce employees next Monday.

Unite is the largest manufacturing union in Britain and boasts over one million members.

No final decision on the closure can be made until the consultation period is over in 56 days time.