MP says factory is being used as political football
LABOUR and Conservative MPs have clashed over Government efforts to save jobs at the Hitachi factory in County Durham.
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh used an urgent question in Parliament to say there has been a lack of action from Transport Secretary Mark Harper over securing the future of the site, along with the Alstom rail factory in Derby.
But Rail Minister Huw Merriman insisted the Government is doing everything it can to support the workforce, saying Ministers had met with Hitachi and Alstom executives a number of times to discuss concerns over lack of orders.
Hitachi has previously warned that it has “no obvious or existing solutions” to maintain its current workforce of 700 at its Newton Aycliffe site. It has also emerged that the company could begin a redundancy process as early as June.
Reports have emerged that a new order for trains in London could provide a lifeline for the Alstom plant, though unions said they were waiting for a deal to be signed.
In Parliament, Labour MPs including Grahame Morris (Easington), Chi Onwurah (Newcastle Central) and Liz Twist (Blaydon) called for greater action to bring forward orders that could save the two plants.
North East Conservative MPs Matt Vickers (Stockton South) and Peter Gibson (Darlington) also expressed concerns for the plant, but Sedgefield’s Paul Howell – whose constituency contains the Newton Aycliffe plant – also criticised Labour for using the issue as a “political football”.
He said: “Right here and right now, I am very concerned about what is happening with Hitachi, as I obviously am about Alstom and the supply chains. I have met the unions – I have met Unite several times – and I will continue to do so. It is important that we are all engaged in this properly, and confidentially where appropriate.
“I have been completely irritated by the number of times the Opposition have said that the Government are not engaged. For most of the time I have been engaging confidentially, as Hitachi has asked.
“Everybody, including the Prime Minister, has been to Hitachi to understand what exactly the situation is. What we need now is for the unions to be engaged and for Hitachi to use all its innovation and skills.”
Earlier in the debate, Mr Merriman had said: “The Government has been doing everything it can to support the workforce over many months and is continuing to do so.
“Whilst Alstom is currently consulting its unions and employees on possible losses, this must be a commercial decision for Alstom. The Government has been working with the company to explore options to enable it to continue manufacturing at its Derby site.
“We have convened a cross-Whitehall group to advise on how to support continued production at Derby and how best to support those workers at risk of redundancy.”
Ms Haigh had said the Hitachi and Alstom plants were facing an “uncertain future” because of “Government’s inaction”.