Rolls-Royce workers in Barnoldswick to begin strike action this week

The workers, who are members of Unite the union, are fighting to preserve the long-term viability of the site, following the decision by Rolls-Royce to offshore the production of the manufacture of its Trent jet engine blades to a factory in Singapore.

Rolls-Royce currently has two adjoining production units in the town – Bankfield and Ghyll Brow – employing around 520 employees.

These proposals would see a reduction in activities at the Bankfield site, a move that would impact approximately 350 employees.

Unite believes that this would make the factory, which Rolls-Royce has owned since 1943, potentially unviable.

Unite said it had always made clear Rolls-Royce could avoid industrial action and settle the dispute over compulsory redundancies by either cancelling its plans to offshore the work to Singapore or by ensuring the viability of Barnoldswick by introducing similar work and guaranteeing comparable employment levels.

The targeted strike action will begin at 6-30am tomorrow and end on Friday, November 27th, at 7pm. Unite will be maintaining a picket line with strict social distancing rules in place throughout the dispute.

Unite regional officer Ross Quinn said: “Our members are taking industrial action as a last resort and have given Rolls-Royce every opportunity to alter its plans by ensuring the viability of Barnoldswick and confirming there will be no compulsory redundancies.

“This dispute is not just about maintaining the viability of the Rolls-Royce factory in Barnoldswick, it is about the future prosperity of the local community.

“Barnoldswick is the cradle of the jet engine and its highly skilled workforce are not prepared to allow the viability of this historic site to be undermined without a battle.

“The ability to resolve this dispute is entirely in the hands of Rolls-Royce.”

Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing Steve Turner added: “The decision by Rolls-Royce to shift work from Barnoldswick to Singapore, costing hundreds of skilled jobs, removing opportunities for coming generations and undermining the long term future of the site, is completely unacceptable.

“Involved in the fight of their lives, workers have united the whole community in demanding replacement products, investment and guarantees over jobs and the plant's future. We urge the company to commit to that long term future and a loyal, highly skilled workforce, before the dispute escalates and the name of Rolls-Royce as a world class UK brand is undermined further.”

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “This is an incredibly difficult time for our employees in Barnoldswick, but we urge them to reconsider industrial action as we consult on our proposals for the future of the site, which we are not planning to close.

"While we are proposing that some work will no longer take place at the site, we also want our people in Barnoldswick to play an important role in developing fan blades for our next-generation jet engines, keeping the UK at the cutting-edge of aerospace technology.”