Protect JLR jobs call

Unite delegate Maggie Ryan moved an emergency motion on the second day of the Labour Party conference on Monday (September 29).

The motion was on Jaguar Land Rover and the crisis workers face after the company was hit with what she called “the most disruptive cyberattack in our country’s industrial history”.

Maggie explained how production has stopped until at least October, and could be delayed even further. She noted that this would not only mean disruption for the car plants and those directly employed by JLR – it also affects a further 100,000 workers across the component and logistics supply chain.

“Our union’s frontline reps and officers have been working night and day to secure emergency banked hours and lay off agreements to protect jobs and wages,” she noted, but warned that “as days are lost and factories are idle, anxiety grows”.

And so too does “the risk of workers going unpaid or losing their jobs”, Maggie added.

Maggie went on to highlight the key call of the motion – emergency support from the government for both wage and job protection for all impacted workers. 

She noted that a precedent has already been set as she recounted how earlier this month in Scotland, Unite and GMB succeeded in negotiating a rescue package for electric bus builder Alexander Dennis to prevent closure.

“That included a wage protection scheme for workers, covering 100% of wages between the government and the company, and is the first of its kind since the pandemic,” she noted.

Maggie explained that Unite’s general secretary has been in talks with the new business secretary and his predecessor to secure JLR’s future and its supply chain.

“Unite welcomes the recent announcement that the government is preparing to offer financial assistance worth £1.5bn to JLR in order to do that,” Maggie asserted.

But she emphasised this is only a first step.

“It shows the government has listened to the concerns raised by Unite,” she said. “It is now vital that this money gets to the workers who need it and is used to prevent the loss of jobs or wages.

“Taking action to protect jobs is exactly what we expect a Labour government to deliver,” Maggie added. “Governments have supported the banks. It is only right to support the future of manufacturing.”

Maggie went on to explain the wider challenges facing the automotive sector, of which the cyber attack was only one part.

“There are many causes for this, including the disastrous impacts of Trump’s tariffs and a painful transition to electric vehicles,” she said. “This wider crisis has already pushed the sector – especially the components supply chain – to a critical point.”

Calling for urgent support, she hailed the British automotive industry as “world leading” of which we are “proud”.

“Being a global industry shouldn’t mean UK workers are left exposed to every global crisis,” she said. “Automotive workers are looking for our support – from our party and from our government.”

By Hajera Blagg

Photo by Mark Thomas