Trade Union Notice

Fighting for UK Jobs

29th April 2015
On Friday the 17th April 2015 Rolls-Royce announced a record order for $9.2 billion to
provide Aero Engines for Emirates Airlines.
Not only was this the biggest single order ever received by Rolls-Royce, it was the
biggest single export order, excluding defence, received by any UK company.
With this record order for a British company what was the main point of the
announcement that this would not create one UK job!!
This should be great news for UK plc, a Great British company winning in the Global
market; this should have been great news for the economy and should have been great
news for the 26,000 UK Rolls-Royce employees.
However, the news was greeted by Rolls-Royce employees in the UK with a tinge of
depression because there was no real change to the company strategy and no sign of
hope for workers still facing the prospect of compulsory redundancies on numerous RR
sites.
It could be imagined that of those 26,000 employees around 1,000 of the company
seniors were jumping for joy, whooping and high fiving each other at the realisation that
they had further secured their future job security, their massive levels of pay would
potentially increase and their bonuses would sky rocket! Dont forget, why none of
these managers really care if their plans succeed or fail is the fact that they will be
comfortable either way, with a pension that is greater than our current incomes for
coming to work, they are comfortable for life whether their strategy succeeds or fails, it
is a NO RISK strategy for them.
Not only that, no political party has made much of the announcement as they know this
makes no difference to the UK economy!
All Rolls-Royce talk about is getting into Low Cost Countries, they have a list of them
and they are abbreviated in communications headed LCC, they are obsessed with
moving our work to LCCs, they are running manpower reduction programs in the UK
for the same skilled populations as they announce major recruitment drives for in Low
Cost Countries, massive investment continues at a pace overseas whilst any
expenditure on existing facilities carries a major cull of the workforce coupled with
attacks on terms and conditions.
As a mirror to our society this continues to line the pockets of the highest paid
managers in our corporation who follow the mantra of the organisations they have been
recruited from, like Peugeot, Ford and Rover, organisations they decimated by
offshoring work and stifling good British innovation, all companies that no longer
manufacture cars in the UK.

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Trade Union Notice

Fighting for UK Jobs
We have co-operated with their mantra, listening to their philosophy that this will help
secure future jobs in the UK. It has not worked, recent announcements continue to
follow the same route, job losses at UK sites!
We believed them when they told us overseas investment was solely to increase
capacity as we grew the business and delivered the order book, they told us the UK
would retain the levels of employment and the footprint it currently has back in 2007.
What did we get?
Continued exportation of our jobs, the passing of time has exposed the lies, the single
minded determination to drive into Low Cost Countries regardless of promises or
impact either on employees or the economy of the most supportive nation that has ever
given taxpayers money to Rolls-Royce, the UK, and not to mention, the direct support,
loyalty and innovation that has placed Rolls-Royce into this world leading position it is
now proud of, that delivers record breaking orders that should be celebrated by all
employees.
Our factories in Inchinnan, lauded as a great success of Rolls-Royce investment in the
UK, told even today that they are a great, flexible, agile workforce are seeing their work
off-shored and facing massive redundancies.
Barnoldswick, where the very first Rolls-Royce Gas Turbine Engines were developed
and built are seeing more of the products they developed sent overseas, again having
a massive impact on jobs.
Sunderland, where employees were forced onto conditions defeated over a quarter of a
century ago by having to work more contractual hour's every week with no extra pay, in
return for a promise of a factory with only half the employee's and then received only
half of that promise, all against the threat of losing their jobs entirely!
Derby our resource for engineering talent, machining, building and testing being told
recently that theres no inclination from the company to build a new test bed for the next
generation of engines and their manufacturing units facing the almost daily uncertainty
of a strategy that is likely to see jobs shipped overseas.
Ansty, over many years, has supported the UK both at Sea and in the Air, particularly
during periods of conflict such as the Falklands and the Gulf wars, their reward,
Pegasus cut, a project sold to France by Rolls-Royce, other projects out-sourced to
external suppliers and the closure of the facility.
Bristol, working on a reduced footprint with a reduced workforce, East Kilbride, number
1 on the blueprint scoring matrix and rewarded with closure and on top of all this there
are no jobs for our Apprentices!
Dont forget no part of Rolls-Royce is immune from this strategy!
What sort of ETHICS is this employer really promoting!

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Trade Union Notice

Fighting for UK Jobs
These are the truths of what is happening, the Trade Unions can no longer sit back and
watch UK sites being decimated month after month.
NOW is the time to fight back!
Co-operation has seen our jobs exported at a faster pace than at any time in the proud
history between Rolls-Royce and the Trade Unions.
Direct positive action can no longer make things any worse, things are already as bad
as they get!
The Trade Unions have declared their intention in a letter to our CEO John Rishton, a
letter which you should have already seen. Maybe as he is leaving the new CEO can
work with us to build a better brighter future for all in the UK, but that has to be in doubt
when he has said he believes in the strategy already in place.
In a letter dated 24 th April Mr Rishton responds to that letter, sent on behalf of the UK
workforce, by urging us to continue to work together to reach the reductions through
voluntary means, knowing that at some UK sites this is impossible to do. Lets continue
to work together he says so that he can continue to reduce the UK footprint and
workforce in favour of Lower Cost countries. He fails to answer our request for a
commitment to no compulsory redundancies.
Well enough is enough, if we sit back and do what Mr Rishton suggests well have no
company left in the UK.
We intend to create a Dispute Fund through the subscription of members, you will get a
vote on its implementation, and it is intended to create financial support for workers
facing financial hardship in pursuit of securing a future for all UK sites.
We will endeavour to keep you well abreast of what is happening and will communicate
with you regularly to update you on why we must do this and what steps, if any, the
company are taking to work with us to resolve this dispute.
We will of course always seek to negotiate in the first instance and avoid dispute
wherever possible, but we cannot roll over any longer. If resolution cannot be reached
we will have to deal with our employer united together in the strongest way possible,
we cannot let the greed of a few destroy the future for the many!
Remember, The Work is There!

On behalf of the Rolls-Royce

Works and Staff Trade Unions

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