Government must stop Boeing complaint, demands union

THE UK government must plan for “all eventualities” and try to force plane maker Boeing to withdraw a complaint against Bombardier threatening thousands of Northern Ireland jobs.

Unite’s regional Secretary, Jackie Pollock, was speaking as the union announced it will host a meeting with workers at the main Bombardier site tomorrow. Bombardier is locked in a trade tussle with Boeing, which claims it’s selling its C Series passenger planes at below cost, and has been unfairly subsidised by Canada’s regional government in Quebec. The US Department of Commerce has since imposed a tariff of almost 300% on sales of the C Series to America.

Bombardier employs around 4,000 workers here.

“We demand that the UK government plans now for all eventualities,” Mr Pollock said.

“They must use whatever power they have to force Boeing to withdraw their complaint, there doesn’t need to be a single job loss for any worker in Boeing or Bombardier.

“This decision seems all the more likely given that the UK government last week effectively raised the white flag by announcing that they expected the tariffs would be imposed and placing their hopes in overturning them at the World Trade Organisation.”

It’s expected the ITC (International Trade Centre) will uphold a ruling by the US Department of Commerce, this month.

“That process is likely to take years — during which time the damage to jobs here in Northern Ireland will have been done.

“... to date the action taken by this government — a mere two calls by the Prime Minister to the US President — has been woefully inadequate,” Mr Pollock added.

The meetings on Thursday have been organised as it is “the eleventh hour for the workforce and so far we have seen only complete inaction and a total lack of urgency from government”, according to Unite’s Susan Fitzgerald.