Lord Mandelson to meet Vauxhall workers in Luton
- 00:00:49
- ITN
Lord Mandelson to meet Vauxhall workers in Luton
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is visiting vanmaker Vauxhall to give an update on how tallks are going to secure its future. Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna, backed by Russia's state-owned Sberbank, was selected last month as the preferred bidder for GM Europe, which includes Vauxhall in the UK and Opel in Germany, but other companies are believed to have shown an interest. China's Beijing Automotive Industry Corporation (BAIC) is reportedly putting together proposals, and its representatives are expected to meet Lord Mandelson in the coming weeks. Union officials said they wanted to impress on Lord Mandelson the "strong case" for supporting van production at Luton. Len McCluskey, Unite's assistant general secretary, said it was vital that the uncertainty about the plant's future was ended. "With workers at the Luton plant extremely worried for their futures they will be pleased that a Government minister is coming to see for themselves the pride this workforce has in the product it makes make," he said. "Clearly we need to make progress on an investor in GM Europe so that we can safeguard this plant, but it has to be the right buyer with the right vision, and a pre-requisite of any sale must be that UK jobs are protected." Rob Weir, a senior Unite shop steward at the Luton plant, added: "This plant is one of the most productive and efficient in Europe. We set the benchmark which other plants must follow and we are a brilliant advert for British manufacturing. "What we want to hear from Lord Mandelson is that the UK Government is 100 per cent behind us and 100 per cent engaged in securing the Luton plant's future."
ITN | July 3, 2009
