TUC – Up to 35,000 manufacturing jobs at risk in the South West if UK does not speed up transition to net zero
- Sectors at risk include aerospace, automotive, chemicals and shipbuilding
- Warning comes at TUC General Secretary visits Hinkley Point C today
The TUC has today (Tuesday) warned that up to 35,000 manufacturing jobs in the South West could be lost if the UK does not speed up its transition to net zero.
New analysis published by the union body highlights how tens of thousands of livelihoods could be at risk unless urgent steps are taken to help traditional industries transition to new forms of production.
The warning comes as TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak visits the nuclear plant construction site at Hinkley Point C in Bridgwater.
Sectors most at risk
The analysis shows a wide range of industries across the South West could be impacted if the UK fails to act.
The sectors most at risk in the region include aerospace, automotive, chemicals and shipbuilding.
The union body says that in addition to factory and plant jobs being under threat from offshoring, additional jobs will also be at risk in local supply chains.
Government can help revive industry
The union body says the UK should be following the example of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which has provided much-needed investment to decarbonise traditional industries and safeguard and create good-quality, union jobs.
The US Act has resulted in US companies pledging to build new clean manufacturing facilities and an estimated $900 billion in extra investment from the private sector.
Biden’s plan is also boosting pay and conditions with the US government setting terms that include fair pay and good union jobs.
The EU is also developing similar plans, boosting homegrown clean industries including batteries, critical minerals, and renewable power.
Yet the UK does not currently have a climate focussed industrial strategy, despite the Conservatives being in power for 13 years. Recent government funded schemes for industry and infrastructure come without conditions for creating good jobs.
New political consensus needed
The TUC calls on all parties to urgently lay out detailed plans for a Biden-style clean industrial strategy for the UK, including how this will shore up manufacturing and accelerate climate action for industries in the southwest.
According to the union body, this strategy should pull every available lever including subsidies, direct government investment and conditions on procurement and licences.
An active industrial strategy could:
- Follow the example of good industrial relations at Hinkley Point C and require companies that receive net zero funding to engage with unions and pay and treat workers fairly.
- Deliver reforms to improve workers’ rights and corporate governance.
- Encourage worker input at board level in every workplace.
- Resource public institutions robustly so they can play their part.
- Ensure companies consult with their workforce and unions about plans to transition to net zero.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said:
“The race to net zero is a race for industrial revival.
“If we move quickly, we can protect and create thousands of good jobs across the South West. But if we don’t, we risk industrial decline and haemorrhaging jobs abroad.
"Other countries are already scaling up investment and subsidies in clean technology. We need the same approach here.
“We must act now to safeguard our manufacturing sector. Then today’s workers will know that their jobs are safe and the future is bright with decent jobs for their children too.
“Hinkley Point C is an example of the good union jobs that can be created when unions, industry and government act together.”
ENDS
About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.5 million working people who make up our 48 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
Methodology: To define industries at risk of offshoring, the TUC’s calculations use analysis from the Energy Systems Catapult (ESC) on the industries most at risk of carbon leakage (top-end, broader estimate). ESC is funded by Innovate UK, which is part UK Research and Innovation, a public body funded by the UK government.
Additionally, this analysis includes sectors where mass technological change is needed to phase out emissions from products (automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding).
Direct job numbers for sectors at risk are sourced from the ONS Business Register and Employment Survey (reference year 2021). The sectoral estimates were then downgraded based on the TUC’s analysis of the relative susceptibility of each broader sector to offshoring due to decarbonisation.
The susceptibility analysis considered a number of factors, including: the sector’s overall fossil fuel consumption; carbon intensity; ability for domestic production to be replaced with imports (represented in part by existing imports); investment in new technology and upgrades needed to decarbonise; the extent of investment by competitor countries compared to the UK; and the extent to which sub-sectors of the industry are at particular risk of offshoring. For the additional sectors, the assessment also considered the emissions associated with industry products, expected future demand, and targets to phase-out the industry’s current technologies (e.g. petrol cars).
Case study: Hinkley Point C
Good, union jobs
Operated by EDF Energy, a division of the French public energy company, Hinkley Point C is Europe’s largest construction site. During the construction phase it is expected to create 25,000 jobs and support 1,000 apprenticeships. EDF’s commitment to union engagement means all work on site, including that of contractors and subcontractors, is covered by an agreement with the recognised trade unions Unite, GMB and Prospect. This ensures the jobs are good, union jobs with decent pay, secure contracts and inclusive practices.
Responsible subcontracting
When construction began EDF held ‘solidarity project’ days, where subcontractor management teams met with union representatives. These workshops laid the foundations for good working relationships that strengthened the negotiation of agreements.
As work got underway, unions participated in employee inductions to ensure every worker knew their rights and entitlements. Unions have since translated the agreements that cover the work into all languages spoken at the site. And EDF conducts a monthly audit of contractor employment to ensure fair rates of pay are upheld.
Equality and inclusivity
The Hinkley women’s network is co-convened by GMB and Unite. It means women workers can support each other, create ways to make the site more welcoming to other women and support parents and carers.
This commitment to equality and inclusivity filters through to hiring practices. In 2022 women accounted for four in ten of the apprentices hired. In the wider construction industry women make up just 11% of the workforce.
And EDF Energy has been supportive of workers who have filed grievances – including intervening when a subcontractor tried to ignore a worker grievance of sexual harassment.
Latest ONS data shows the risk of suicide among male labourers, particularly those working in construction, is three times higher than the male national average. And union reps have been instrumental in making Hinkley one of the leading examples of inclusion practices in construction.
Hinkley Point C is an example of how union rights are essential to ensuring fairness at work and a worker-led just transition.
Contacts:
TUC press office
media@tuc.org.uk
020 7467 1248
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