"We have to show that Peugeot cannot walk over its workforce"

On Thursday April 27^th the
Question Time programme on BBC came from Coventry, so it was
inevitable that the issue of the threatened closure of Peugeot at
Ryton would be discussed. The panel of “experts” were united in
their opinions that closure was inevitable, that nothing could be
done, that it was the law of the market. In this last opinion they
were correct – under capitalism if shareholders deem that greater
profits can be made elsewhere, they will force through plant closures
despite the consequences for families and communities.

As the pundits on the programme
pontificated whilst expressing their obligatory sympathy for the
workforce, the Peugeot workers in the audience were visibly stunned
to hear the views that apparently nothing can be done to save the
plant. Many of the workers believe that closure is not inevitable and
today, Friday 28^th, about 100 workers from the plant
demonstrated outside a major Peugeot car dealer in Holbrooks,
Coventry to publicise their case, express their anger and garner
support.

A joint leaflet from the T&G and
Amicus points out that the plant is efficient, profitable and worth
saving. The leaflet shows that Peugeot made profits last year in
excess of one billion Euros and that the Ryton workforce is the most
flexible in Europe and has done everything the company had asked it
to do. It is also pointed out that the Peugeot group achieved record
sales of 3.9million vehicles in 2005 and that the UK remains
Peugeot’s third biggest market.

Quite correctly the leaflet also states
that, “closing the plant at Ryton is about sacrificing UK workers
to appease shareholders and increase profit by exporting jobs to
Eastern Europe”. Finally the leaflet calls upon trade unions and
other organisations in Coventry to support the fight back and “the
trade union alternative”.

At this moment in time however the
trade union alternative is not spelled out. I spoke to John Cummins,
Deputy Convenor from Amicus, about the trade union plans to keep the
plant open. John said:

“In the beginning people were shocked
at the news and even more so when the impact on jobs, families and
the community was realised. At this moment the important thing is to
ensure the workers remain calm, that the rumours from management are
scotched so that workers are not frightened or cowed into making
irrational decisions. We have to show that Peugeot cannot walk over
its workforce. Given the lack of consultation by management, we do
not have information that we can use to draw up other viable options.
At this moment we are gathering information and when we know more,
the convenor and the national officials will be able to present
options to the workers so that educated decisions can be made”.

I asked whether the issue of opening
the company books had been raised and John replied that all
information that is available is being looked at. I also asked
whether the issue of nationalisation had been discussed and again
John replied that viable options would be presented by the trade
unions once enough information had been gathered and analysed.

So at this moment there are no concrete
plans to be presented to the workforce, but what the trade unions
believe is that it is important that confidence in an alternative is
maintained.

Coincidentally, a study was published
in the Guardian on Wednesday 26^th April on what had
happened to the workers from Rover at Longbridge who had lost their
jobs a year ago. The study found that by December 2005 more than two
thirds of the ex-Rover workers had found jobs but that on average
they were earning £3,523 per year less than they earned at
Rover. Almost half of them believed they had worse jobs. In addition
the researcher, Kathy Armstrong, said that “lower wages,
lower-graded jobs and less job satisfaction may cause depression and
illness among workers in the future.” She also found that while
most employees are back at work, most are also much worse off. This
report ties in with one in the Guardian today, Friday April 28^th,
that “depression, anxiety and other forms of mental illness have
taken over from unemployment as the greatest social problem in the
UK.” The report states that 15% of the population suffers from
depression and the economic cost in terms of lost productivity is
huge – about £17 billion or 1.5% of UK GDP.

Is this the future for many of the
workers from Ryton? If they and we are not successful in keeping the
plant open, the future would seem to be one of low wages, falling
living standards, unemployment and depression with all of the
attendant social costs to deal with these problems. This is the price
that is to be paid on the altar of profit, the altar of capitalism.
It is no accident that the present generation is the first one since
the war that sees the future as being bleaker, more uncertain, less
secure than the present.

Time is running out. Plans have to be
drawn up quickly to present to the workforce so that they believe
they have a chance of winning and keeping the plant open. Once
disbelief sets in, it will be very difficult to re galvanise support
for a fight that can be won. All options have to be examined,
including occupation to prevent asset stripping and nationalisation
without compensation. The Ryton plant does not belong to Peugeot. It
belongs to past and present workers who have created value through
their labour, value that has been siphoned off to the shareholders.
The workers should therefore decide what happens to their factory,
the one that they have built and financed through their work.

April 28, 2006