BAE workers vote to stave off job cuts (From Lancashire Telegraph)

BAE workers vote to stave off job cuts

6:00pm Sunday 11th March 2012 in News By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

THOUSANDS of workers from BAE Systems’ Salmesbury plant will be voting on proposals that could save hundreds of jobs tomorrow.

Shop floor staff from BAE’s two plants in Lancashire, at Salmesbury, and in Warton, are meeting in Blackpool.

They will be voting on plans drawn up by the unions and BAE bosses that could ward off compulsory redundancies.

At the moment 565 jobs are under threat at the Salmesbury plant.

Nigel Evans, MP for the Ribble Valley, said: “I wish the unions all the very best of luck in their meetings to try and avoid compulsory job losses.

“We know how important these jobs are to the area and BAE say they are still pushing hard on export orders.

“It is a positive move that staff, unions and the company can sit down together and try and find a solution and I hope they are able to come up with something.

“Once you lose the skills it is very hard to get them back.”

It is believed that the measures being put to the vote include workers taking unpaid holidays and staff being moved to other parts of the business.

In total around 1,400 defence jobs are under threat across the two Lancashire plants.

Chris Boardman, the managing director of BAE’s Military, Air and Information division, said this week that around 1,000 jobs had already been saved in other plants and other areas through agreements with the trade unions.

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