
The Socialist 6 May 2020
Bosses push to lift lockdown - they only care about profits

Bosses push to lift lockdown - they only care about profits
Bail out the real wealth creators, not the rich
Homes needed to end overcrowding
Homeless left on streets during pandemic
Pay full fees for virtual courses? - No way!
Your donations can keep the Socialist going
Test and trace: workers need a real plan
Tories using pandemic to shift lab testing out of NHS
Nationalise British Airways to stop 12,000 redundancies
Postal workers force Royal Mail back
No increase in transport capacity without adequate safety precautions for workers and passengers
Unsafe Workplace? "It's up to you" PCS tells reps and members
Further protests in Ireland against Debenhams closures - UK fightback needed
Rolls Royce threatens 8,000 job losses
EDF Energy workers furloughed on 100% pay
India: Fighting the curse of capitalism and coronavirus
US: Trump's public health cuts have condemned thousands worldwide
Trump puts profit before safety (again)
The Tyneside apprentices' strike during WW2
Going viral: Socialist comments and letters on the corona crisis
TV Review BBC Panorama: PPE shortage - how many lives will be lost?
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Rolls Royce threatens 8,000 job losses
Ian Hunter, Derby Socialist Party
Rolls Royce has announced a possible and imminent 8,000 redundancies. This was explained as 'necessary' because of huge cuts in production by aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Airbus has cut production by one third and furloughed 3,200 staff.
Details of the redundancies are expected by the end of May. The Financial Times recently stated that the company's restructuring plan could shrink the workforce by 15%.
In early April, the workers' union Unite agreed a deal with Rolls Royce to 'financially protect' the company's 20,000 UK workforce during the coronavirus pandemic. The package included a 10% pay 'delay' from April. Unite has now told Rolls Royce to "step back" from making redundancies.
The latest round of redundancies will have a devastating impact on the workers' families and the local economy. Action will be difficult at the present time. A mass community march and demonstration, like the 10,000-strong protest in 2010 when Derby-based train-maker Bombardier was under threat, is not possible under current lockdown restrictions.
However, Unite should call for the nationalisation of Rolls Royce as happened in 1971 - under a Tory government! This should be under democratic workers' control, with no enforced job losses, and the development of a future alternative plan of production.
In this issue
What we think
Bosses push to lift lockdown - they only care about profits
Coronavirus news
Bail out the real wealth creators, not the rich
Homes needed to end overcrowding
Homeless left on streets during pandemic
Pay full fees for virtual courses? - No way!
Your donations can keep the Socialist going
Test and trace
Test and trace: workers need a real plan
Tories using pandemic to shift lab testing out of NHS
Workplace news
Nationalise British Airways to stop 12,000 redundancies
Postal workers force Royal Mail back
No increase in transport capacity without adequate safety precautions for workers and passengers
Unsafe Workplace? "It's up to you" PCS tells reps and members
Further protests in Ireland against Debenhams closures - UK fightback needed
Rolls Royce threatens 8,000 job losses
EDF Energy workers furloughed on 100% pay
International news
India: Fighting the curse of capitalism and coronavirus
US: Trump's public health cuts have condemned thousands worldwide
Trump puts profit before safety (again)
Lessons from history
The Tyneside apprentices' strike during WW2
Obituary
Readers' opinion
Going viral: Socialist comments and letters on the corona crisis
TV Review BBC Panorama: PPE shortage - how many lives will be lost?
Related links:
Lancashire workers' strike shows the way to fight aerospace cuts and job losses
Derby Socialist Party: Fight to save jobs
Strong union response needed against job cuts
Rolls-Royce: fight all job cuts!
Workers fight back against race to the bottom!
University teaching moves online in England
Christmas redundancy shock at L&Q housing association
Openreach and EE: Massive vote for action
Books that inspired me: The Road to Wigan Pier
Trump Twitter ban: only independent workers' voice can defeat right
Rolls-Royce Barnoldswick factory future secured following strike action