Early in November I visited Cardiff and our Wales and South West Region. Afters speaking at Regional Council, I met with our amazing reps at Appledore.
Jake and Aaron are fighting tooth and nail to secure a future for the yard. It’s yet another example of skilled jobs being put at risk and the government standing by and twiddling it’s thumbs. The Government could and should have avoided this by having a thoroughly thought out industrial strategy and plan to secure shipbuilding, now and into the future.
Calls to the Ministry of Defence to build ships like the Royal Fleet Auxilary Solid Support ships in the UK have fallen on deaf ears as the Tories have wrongly gone out to international tender allowing shipyards in South Korea, Italy, Japan and Spain to bid. While our historic shipyards like Appledore and Cammell Laird are crying out for work, it is madness for the Ministry of Defence to consider handing out work overseas.
GMB won’t let these jobs go quietly – we’ll fight for every single one. We’ve been high profile in the news, on social media and in Westminster where our reps have lobbied MPs and government departments.
Quite rightly, Appledore is a source of great pride for the community producing offshore patrol vessels and sections for various naval vessels across the UK. The shipyard has been profitable, the community built around it. Workers will go into the festive season unsure what the future holds, but whatever it does hold, GMB will be there every step of the way.
