General Council Statement on Trident
Congress 2006
General Council Statement on Trident
The trade union movement has long campaigned for peace and disarmament, and in particular against weapons of mass destruction. We recognise that in today's international climate, the possession of nuclear weapons would either have no effect on, or increase, the threats of terrorism and nuclear brinkmanship that we face.
The General Council therefore renews its call, as set out in the 2003 Congress resolution on disarmament, for 'efforts to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction and [our call] on those with the biggest arsenals to initiate multilateral initiatives under the aegis of the United Nations to achieve substantial progress towards world disarmament.'
The General Council notes that the decision on a possible replacement for Trident will be taken within the next year. The General Council is concerned about the potential economic impact that the non-replacement of Trident would have on both the MOD civilian workforce and on manufacturing industry generally and specifically those working in the defence industry. We remind Congress that many of these people live and work in remote parts of Britain where there is little other alternate employment let alone skilled employment of this nature. Therefore we believe that the issue of diversification to protect the jobs of those engaged in work that could be affected by this decision needs to be fully explored, as does the alternative defence initiatives.
The General Council also recognises that many unions have not yet reached a view on this issue, and believes that there should be an opportunity for a proper consultation on the issues of jobs, defence and public expenditure within the trade union movement, pending the publication of a Green Paper, and that the General Council should initiate such a consultation without undue delay before a final Government position is reached.
The General Council is also concerned that the cost to public expenditure could be tens of billions of pounds, which could otherwise be invested in manufacturing, health, education, pensions and transport and this is another important factor which has to be considered in this debate.
The General Council therefore calls on the Government for a full, rational and open public and Parliamentary debate on the replacement of Trident before any final Government decisions are taken, including a Green Paper covering all the options for replacement, including non-replacement, a White Paper and a deciding vote in Parliament.
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