UK
Vauxhall workers in Luton stage second day of protests
Stellantis, owners of Vauxhall, is closing down its Luton factory—but hundreds of workers are opposing the closure to save their jobs
Workers at Vauxhall factory protest Stellantis’ closure (Picture: Alan Kenny)
By Arthur Townend
Wednesday 18 December 2024
SOCIALIST WORKER Issue 2936
Vehicle workers held their second day of protests against the closure of the Vauxhall plant in Luton on Wednesday.
The Unite union members protested the day before and held a mass meeting outside the plant on Monday.
Workers are angry that parent company Stellantis wants to shut the plant with 1,100 job losses. That would have a devastating impact not just on Vauxhall workers, but the whole area.
Unite member Lewis told Socialist Worker, “Former CEO Carlos Tavares pursued an aggressive cost cutting strategy, repressing workers’ wages. We believe this is just another development of that.
“Our position is let’s close the book on that era. It’s a profit-making plant so let’s get Stellantis back round the table.”
When Stellantis announced the closure of the Luton plant in November, it gave workers an “HR1” 45 day redundancy period that will end in January.
Workers are demanding that Stellantis withdraws the redundancy period so they can negotiate over the future of the factory.
The Luton plant produced over 93,000 vehicles last year. But to reduce costs, Stellantis has started to close the factory anyway.
Lewis said, “What Stellantis has done, crudely, is put this HR1 in over the Christmas period when production is lower”.
He said that bosses hope this will make it easier to stop workers from organising a fightback and shut the factory down.
Unite automotive researcher Ben Norman told Socialist Worker, “Today, we have to make the industrial demand on the company to withdraw the redundancy period. Workers can’t make a decision over the future of the site with a gun held to their head.”
Norman said it was a “test of Labour” as Unite and workers were set to meet business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Tuesday afternoon. “We have no illusions in Reynolds, but Labour needs to support a rescue package for the site,” he said.
Bosses want to slow down production and shut the plant as quickly as possible. A ballot for strike would take time, but this should not be an alibi for the union leaders not to hold one and call strikes.
The unions’ strategy of “social partnership” with bosses has failed—it has seen bosses squeeze more from workers in the name of “productivity”. That strategy of “partnership working” with bosses did not save jobs whether at the Honda car plant in Swindon in 2009 or Port Talbot steel works earlier this year.
The only alternative lies with using workers’ collective power to stop the bosses’ plans.
In Luton, the company still has to wind down production and offload 1,200 vans at the plant—which means a strike could still be effective. If there were picket lines up outside the plant, they could become a focal point for solidarity.
We saw a glimpse of this on Monday. As Unite members held a protest outside the plant, lorry drivers coming to pick up vans turned around, slowing down Stellantis’s plan. A strike by Vauxhall workers would encourage much more of this solidarity.
Rank-and-file members of Unite should push officials for an immediate strike ballot.
But time is running out and the trade union laws put up a plethora of hoops for workers to jump through before they can strike. And there is an urgency in taking action now.
Workers have occupied their factories to save jobs and force bosses into retreat. In 2009, for example, Visteon factory occupations forced improved redundancy packages from multinational giant Ford which had tried to sack workers on the spot.
An occupation of the Luton plant calling for nationalisation—coupled with solidarity from Britain and internationally—could save jobs.
Vehicle workers held their second day of protests against the closure of the Vauxhall plant in Luton on Wednesday.
The Unite union members protested the day before and held a mass meeting outside the plant on Monday.
Workers are angry that parent company Stellantis wants to shut the plant with 1,100 job losses. That would have a devastating impact not just on Vauxhall workers, but the whole area.
Unite member Lewis told Socialist Worker, “Former CEO Carlos Tavares pursued an aggressive cost cutting strategy, repressing workers’ wages. We believe this is just another development of that.
“Our position is let’s close the book on that era. It’s a profit-making plant so let’s get Stellantis back round the table.”
When Stellantis announced the closure of the Luton plant in November, it gave workers an “HR1” 45 day redundancy period that will end in January.
Workers are demanding that Stellantis withdraws the redundancy period so they can negotiate over the future of the factory.
The Luton plant produced over 93,000 vehicles last year. But to reduce costs, Stellantis has started to close the factory anyway.
Lewis said, “What Stellantis has done, crudely, is put this HR1 in over the Christmas period when production is lower”.
He said that bosses hope this will make it easier to stop workers from organising a fightback and shut the factory down.
Unite automotive researcher Ben Norman told Socialist Worker, “Today, we have to make the industrial demand on the company to withdraw the redundancy period. Workers can’t make a decision over the future of the site with a gun held to their head.”
Norman said it was a “test of Labour” as Unite and workers were set to meet business secretary Jonathan Reynolds on Tuesday afternoon. “We have no illusions in Reynolds, but Labour needs to support a rescue package for the site,” he said.
Bosses want to slow down production and shut the plant as quickly as possible. A ballot for strike would take time, but this should not be an alibi for the union leaders not to hold one and call strikes.
The unions’ strategy of “social partnership” with bosses has failed—it has seen bosses squeeze more from workers in the name of “productivity”. That strategy of “partnership working” with bosses did not save jobs whether at the Honda car plant in Swindon in 2009 or Port Talbot steel works earlier this year.
The only alternative lies with using workers’ collective power to stop the bosses’ plans.
In Luton, the company still has to wind down production and offload 1,200 vans at the plant—which means a strike could still be effective. If there were picket lines up outside the plant, they could become a focal point for solidarity.
We saw a glimpse of this on Monday. As Unite members held a protest outside the plant, lorry drivers coming to pick up vans turned around, slowing down Stellantis’s plan. A strike by Vauxhall workers would encourage much more of this solidarity.
Rank-and-file members of Unite should push officials for an immediate strike ballot.
But time is running out and the trade union laws put up a plethora of hoops for workers to jump through before they can strike. And there is an urgency in taking action now.
Workers have occupied their factories to save jobs and force bosses into retreat. In 2009, for example, Visteon factory occupations forced improved redundancy packages from multinational giant Ford which had tried to sack workers on the spot.
An occupation of the Luton plant calling for nationalisation—coupled with solidarity from Britain and internationally—could save jobs.
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