'If there’s public money available to paint the Union Jack on aeroplanes, then there should be money for the people who build them'

Call to protect Airbus jobs 

A Plaid Cymru councillor whose father works at Airbus is calling for a united front to protect jobs and support workers.

Councillor Carrie Harper from Wrexham has asked people to sign a pledge calling on the UK Government to provide similar support to that seen in Germany and France to implement a shorter working week.

The pledge reads:

The recent announcement of 1435 job losses at Airbus in Broughton will have a huge impact on Wrexham, Flintshire and local supply chains.

Many who work at Airbus are devastated by this news. They are looking for leadership. The French and German Governments responded instantly to the Airbus announcement and put in place a two-year scheme to implement a shorter working week, along with a Government top-up for workers to make up the shortfall.

We need such a scheme here and we need it now.

We call for a united front to demand this same level of intervention for Airbus workers. Every one of these jobs matters.

If it can be done for the Bankers, it can be done for Broughton workers. If it can be done for the steel industry, it can be done for aviation. If there’s public money available to paint aeroplanes with the Union Jack, then there should be money for the people who build them.

We need everyone to stand up and fight for north-east Wales.

Please sign this pledge and show you're on board.

Cllr Harper backed the trade union campaign calling on people to write to their MPs to lobby the UK Government. As part of that she has written an open letter to her local Tory MP calling on her to take action: