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 Ł5.5 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 Ł15-20 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.

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In The Socialist 2 April 2005:

Liar Blair must go!