BAE Systems – the giant defence company – recently announced the closure of its Portsmouth shipyard, resulting in the loss of almost one thousand jobs. We publish here reports of a meeting and rally organised by Portsmouth Trades Council to protest against the shipyard closure and job losses. In addition, Socialist Appeal supporters in Portsmouth interviewed a worker and trade unionist from the shipyard, which we also publish here.
BAE Systems – the giant defence company – recently announced the closure of its Portsmouth shipyard, resulting in the loss of almost one thousand jobs. We publish here reports of a meeting and rally organised by Portsmouth Trades Council to protest against the shipyard closure and job losses. In addition, Socialist Appeal supporters in Portsmouth interviewed a worker and trade unionist from the shipyard, which we also publish here.
Rally against job losses
More than 200 people gathered at short notice in Portsmouth shopping precinct on Saturday 9th November to protest against the announced job cuts at BAE Systems. Dockyard employer BAE had announced that it was cutting 940 jobs and ending shipbuilding in Portsmouth, along with the loss of a further 875 jobs in Scotland.
Despite the heavy rain before the rally, people assembled and stayed to hear speeches from local trade unionists, Labour Party activists, and Michael Hancock, MP for Portsmouth South.
Jon Woods, President of Portsmouth Trades Council, introduced the rally and said: “We know that militancy and action does make a difference.” He introduced Bobby Noyes, representing Southampton Trades Council, who declared their full support for the campaign.
John Ferrett, a Portsmouth North Labour Party activist and Prospect trade union official said that they had 300 members at BAE. “There have been massive overspends on the contracts. If Scotland goes for independence, we’ll have no shipbuilding in the UK. We need to put pressure on the coalition to change their view. My members will draw a lot of sustenance from you being here today.”
Sion Reynolds, Vice President of Portsmouth Trades Council and Secretary of Portsmouth NASUWT teachers’ union, said: “The closure of this dockyard will have a devastating effect upon the people of Portsmouth . . .The decline of local jobs – particularly skilled jobs – will inevitably damage the aspirations and opportunities of young people on Portsmouth and the surrounding area.”
Sion – a Socialist Appeal supporter – said that David Willetts, Universities Minister and the Tory MP for Havant, had talked about young people in the area being able to have employment and training in the engineering and manufacturing sector – including in the local maritime industry – as an alternative to academic study in a university, but this idea was “becoming increasingly hard to sustain”.
Sion linked this with government efforts “to scapegoat teachers for the social and economic dislocation which their policies create. . .The Youth Select Committee has recently reported that what young people really need is education to prepare them for life. . .What kind of life are we preparing them for? Let’s make sure Portsmouth does not simply become a vast heritage museum, but remains a real, living community with a future.”
“If there is no need for warships, let’s suitably employ dockyard workers in building and maintaining ships for civilian purposes. If BAE won’t do it, then we should nationalise the dockyard under workers’ control. No job losses! Share the work! No loss of pay!”
These demands were greeted with cheers from the crowd.
Trades council backing
The rally was just the first part of action in support of the BAE workers agreed by Portsmouth Trades Council at a meeting to which dockyard workers, reps and other local community members concerned about the announcement had been invited.
Two dockyard workers addressed the trades council meeting. One said: “We don’t know a lot. The address was short and sweet. No questions. It was totally out of the blue. Mick Ord [managing director] came from his office in Scotland and addressed us.. . . there was a need to move quickly as the company was already sending equipment up to Scotland.”
Jon Woods said the Save Portsmouth Shipyard Facebook page, with 40K hits already, showed the level of support for a campaign in the city. “They’re trying to play off Portsmouth against the Scottish yards. We shouldn’t let them.”
Other speakers questioned why the company had not bid for other government work. Wally Tavener, Unite member, said that BAE had not been on the list of preferred bidders for contracts, because they hadn’t invested.
Sylvia Courtnage – NUJ delegate to PTC and Socialist Appeal supporter – said that this was yet another attack on the working class and trade unions, along with Grangemouth, where the boss had blackmailed the unions, Royal Mail, teachers and public sector workers.
Unemployment in Portsmouth – previously at 9% – was already above the national average. For every three dockyard jobs lost, there would be another two lost locally – so 900 jobs would mean 1500 jobs lost – and all their families will be affected.
Sylvia suggested that the campaign should go out to the labour movement, learning the lessons from the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders dispute. The Scottish and English workers should unite in a campaign and call for the dockyard to be nationalised.
Sylvia added that apart from being angry about the job losses, we should all be angry because it is ordinary working people everywhere who are going to have to pay for it. The government had made an agreement with BAE guaranteeing work for 15 years. They would be funding the job losses.
The Portsmouth Trades Council has set up a joint committee with reps from dockyard workers to plan and co-ordinate the campaign to fight the job losses.
A further demonstration is already planned for Saturday 16 November, when there will be a march round the dockyard walls.
Interview with a dockyard worker and trade unionist
Socialist Appeal interviewed a young female worker and Unite member from the Portsmouth dockyard.
Socialist Appeal: How long have you been working at the Dockyard?
I’ve been there about five years, but many others have been there 15 or 20 years.
Who could be affected by the job losses?
Everyone in shipbuilding could be affected. That’s 940 core workers and over 100 agency workers. The agency people would only get a week’s notice, yet some of them have been there nearly as long as me.
About four years ago, we had an agreement with the company that they would not employ more than 10% agency workers – then it just went up and up. The union never did anything to challenge that. Where I’ve been working, there used to be about three agency workers to one core worker – but an awful lot have already gone over the last few months.
The company likes to build trouble between the core and agency workers. They’re good at doing that.
A while ago, the company chairman, Charlie Blakemore, was interviewed on the Clyde. He was talking about how we had to get rid of the dead wood and setting colleagues against each other. Yet previously we’d been told that our work was good quality.
What are BAE Systems like to work for?
They’ve cut back on things. They stopped providing tea and coffee – though it probably didn’t save the company very much. People were upset about that. The unions should have taken that up.
They also used to provide transport for people who had to travel from Southampton. They took that away too, so people either have to drive or pay to travel by coach.
Was the announcement of closure and job losses a surprise?
A lot of people were angry because they heard about it first on the news – before anyone had been told. That forced the company to make the announcement sooner than they intended. Some men were in tears.
One friend has a mortgage and a little daughter; another is in his fifties with only six years left on his mortgage. I feel most sorry for them.
What is the mood among the workers?
We feel isolated and don’t know where to turn. When the job losses were announced at the meeting, some of the Scottish people who work here with us were cheering, because they would be keeping some work up there.
I blame the company. They are good at making people fight each other and not the company.
Some people were angry on Thursday, doing things like setting off the fire alarms. I don’t think that’s right.
Many colleagues feel defeated – as though we can do nothing. I feel encouraged by the backing of the Portsmouth Trades Council and by the fact that people are prepared to help us fight back.
