Press Release

17 March 2004

Bombardier job cuts a ‘nail in the coffin’ for British Rail Industry

TSSA, the UK’s second largest rail union, has said today’s [Wednesday’s] news of 1,362 jobs being cut by Bombardier represents a retrograde step for Britain’s rail industry.

The union said that the closure of sites in Derby, Doncaster and Wakefield meant that more and more trains used in Britain will be made abroad and that vital engineering skills and experience would vanish too.

TSSA General Secretary Gerry Doherty commented:

“Many of our members will be affected by this announcement, and we will do all we can as a union to manage the impact of the job cuts.

“But our concerns go far beyond their own personal circumstances. Today’s news is another nail in the coffin for train manufacture in this country, which has a proud history stretching all the way back to George Stevenson’s Rocket.

“As well as jobs going, vital skills, experience and capacity will be vanishing too. At a time when many commentators lament the poor skill base of today’s workforce, can we really afford to lose this expertise?

“The Bombardier plants in the UK are known to be more efficient than their counterparts in Europe, by anything up to 30 per cent. Is the real reason these British factories are closing because it is easier to sack British workers than their European counterparts?”

ends

For further information, please contact:

Mike Katz, Head of Communications (020) 7529 8033 or 07956 925969 (mobile)

Notes to Editors

1. TSSA represents 33,000 members in administrative, clerical, managerial, professional and technical jobs in the railways, buses, the London Underground, the travel trade, canals, ports and ferries, and road haulage.

2. TSSA members working for Bombardier include engineering technicians, administrative grades and other professional and support staff.