Fury at jobs massacre

THREE WEEKS after being told by managers that their jobs were safe, workers at Clares Merchandise Handling Equipment in Wells, Somerset have received the devastating news that the factory is to be closed with immediate effect, with the loss of 200 jobs.

Richie Clesham, Wells ISR

Angry workers gathered to protest outside the town hall at the closure of the last manufacturing industry in the area but were told by managers and leaders of the local council that nothing could be done to save their jobs. This closure will have a devastating impact on our rural community and comes only a year after the closure of the Nutricia factory which massively increased unemployment in the area.

While Clares workers have been left out in the cold, the company made a £2 million profit last year. To add further insult the land on which the factory stood is being sold off to property developers to make fat profits from building houses that will be unaffordable to ordinary workers in Wells.

Despite the angry protest, management and council leaders disgustingly told workers to "stay motivated" and go for help and advice at local job centres. However there is very little work in the area, which has had its manufacturing base decimated. Most of the employment in the Wells area is low-paid and concentrated in agricultural labouring, farm factories or exploitative agency work. Young people looking for work move out of the area.

Tragically any hope of a fight-back has come too late, Clares is typical of manufacturing in rural areas in having a mostly unorganised workforce. The lack of a fighting trade union to lead a campaign against the closure has left the workers vulnerable.

The Tories and Liberals are battling it out before the local elections but have nothing to offer workers and young people in my area. We need a new party that fights to defend jobs and services and offers young people a future.

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Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.