Petitionisunderway
Nearly 50,000 people have signed an online petition calling for 700 jobs to be protected at Rolls-Royce’s Inchinnan base.
It calls on the support of the Scottish Government to retain valuable and highly skilled staff and safeguard jobs to protect its history and support the economy.
Union Convenor of the Glasgow plant’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul division, Tam Mitchell, said the jobs blow is devastating for East Kilbride.
He said: “The announcement last week that Rolls-Royce proposed to close its Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul base in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire has a deep effect on East Kilbride.
“The MRO part of the Rolls-Royce Inchinnan plant is the operation that was transferred from East Kilbride in 2015, with the Test Beds closing the following year.
“Over half the workforce still commute from East Kilbride or the surrounding South Lanarkshire area to Renfrewshire every day to work for the company.
“The reason for this is that most of them have been doing it for many years as did their families before them.
“I have been with the company for nearly 35 years, after starting my engineering apprenticeship in 1985.
“My own father worked with the company from 1967 until 1989 as a warehouse operator.
“I met my wife working in the East Kilbride factory as she followed in her father’s footsteps of becoming an engineer for the company. And my father-in-law spent 40 years with the company.
“Now that history and all those links could be broken if the Inchinnan facility closes.
“The devastation to the central Scottish economy, especially within the East Kilbride community will be severe.
“The loss of these highly skilled jobs will be impossible to replace.
“All the workforce need is a bit of time.
“Time for governments to safely come out of lockdown and for people to fly again.
“However that is time we may not have as the company jump in quickly to reduce cost and protect profits rather than the families who made the Rolls-Royce name what it is.”
To find out more about the petition log onto: change. org/p/rolls-royce-protectrolls-royce-inchinnan-joblosses