Coventry: Save Peugeot jobs

COVENTRY SOCIALIST Party’s new "Save Peugeot Jobs" petition
has already attracted well over 500 people’s signatures. They hope to
gain thousands more in the days ahead.

Peugeot Citroen have announced the axing of 850 jobs at Coventry’s
Ryton plant (nearly one-third of the total workforce) with the ending of
the ‘C’ shift. This fuelled suspicion that, like Jaguar and Massey
Ferguson before them, they are planning to pull out of Coventry.

The petition calls for:

  • The fullest support for Peugeot workers and their families in a
    determined campaign to save jobs.
  • The opening of the company’s books. Peugeot is one of Europe’s
    most profitable car companies – where have the £5.5 billion net
    profits of the last 5 years really gone?
  • The trade union movement to organise a national march and rally in
    Coventry in defence of manufacturing jobs.

Dave Nellist, Socialist Party councillor and general election
candidate for Coventry North-East commented: "Almost everyone in
this city knows someone who works, or has worked, at Peugeot. Ryton is
the last major car factory left in Coventry. If these 850 jobs are axed
then at least £15-20 million a year would disappear from the local
economy. If the factory itself comes under threat then there would be a
widespread effect from shops to schools.

"It’s in all our interests to support any big campaign to stop
Peugeot playing Russian roulette with people’s lives. Hopefully the
unions will urgently produce thousands of their own petitions, stickers,
leaflets etc to rally the city behind Peugeot workers and their
families."

Copies of this petition are available from Dave Nellist at the
Council House, Earl Street, Coventry.