Union seeks jobs help

Rolls-Royce plans to shed 3,800 UK jobs

Union bosses have called for urgent talks with Scotland's First Minister in an effort to find a way to stem a rising tide of job cuts.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in the USA there has been a massive round of jobs cuts across the world, particularly in aviation and related industries.

Scotland has already seen a number of job losses and fears are running high that more will be lost at Rolls-Royce.

Against that background, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union has called for an early meeting with Henry McLeish.

Danny Carrigan wants to see the executive involved

On Saturday, at an AEEU shop stewards' meeting in Glasgow, a four-point plan to prevent further redundancies was agreed.

Rolls-Royce, the Derby-based engine manufacturer, which also employs 1,300 workers at Hillington, near Glasgow, is aiming to shed 3,800 jobs in the UK.

Other losses have been announced at GE Caledonian, British Airways and British Midland.

The AEEU has now urged companies not to take short-term action by laying off workers, demanded no compulsory redundancies and called for government aid for the manufacturing sector.

The union said assistance should be on a similar scale to the compensation package for farmers hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis, which was calculated to cost in the region of £1bn.

'We need assistance'

Danny Carrigan, Scottish regional secretary, said after the meeting: "Our members are very angry that the manufacturing and engineering industry seems to be disappearing out of sight.

"Many of our members have already been made redundant following the downturn in the electronics industry.

"Now it appears that engineering workers are to be the indirect casualties of terrorist activities.

"The government were rightly keen to help out the farming community during the foot-and-mouth crisis."

He added: "We believe they should now come to the assistance of the beleaguered manufacturing and engineering industries."