MEMBERS of the Unite union have begun to ballot on industrial action as part of a campaign to save the Rolls-Royce plant at Barnoldswick.

In August, Rolls-Royce announced 350 redundancies at its Bankfield and Ghyll Brow sites in the town.

The firm revealed it is planning to transfer the manufacture of of wide-chord fan blades to Singapore provoking fears for the move’s impact on the aerospace supply chain across East Lancashire.

The cutback, on top of 220 redundancies announced in June, could leave the site which employed 740 in January, with just 170 workers.

Ballot papers began to be sent out today (Tuesday) and the ballot will close on Friday 16 October. Should the workforce vote in favour of industrial action, strikes could begin in early November.

Unite regional officer Ross Quinn said: “Industrial action is never taken lightly but our members will not allow this historic factory to close without a fight. The workers feel totally betrayed by Rolls-Royce’s management.

“This site is the heart and soul of jobs in this area, so the whole town is behind the campaign to keep the factory not just open but with a long term viable future.”

He added: “Rolls-Royce has been a vital part of this town for nearly 80 years and plays a key role in underpinning the local economy. As the cradle of the jet engine, the workers and the wider community will not let that heritage simply disappear and we’re determined to persuade Rolls-Royce to act honourably.

“Rolls-Royce made cast iron commitments when it opened its factory in Singapore that work at Barnoldswick would not suffer and the workforce rightly believes that these commitments must be honoured.”

Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing Steve Turner said: “Unite has been working with employers’ federations, devolved governments and cross party MPs to drive the government to do more for this industry so that employers like Rolls-Royce do not eye up overseas alternatives.

“For months we have championed short-time working as a way to put stability into the industry and to save the skills which are at the heart of this community.

“Now, with the government’s job support scheme, Rolls-Royce needs to step back from the brink, reverse this decision, invest in its loyal UK workforce and preserve blade production at Barnoldswick.”

A spokesperson for Rolls-Royce said: “This is a difficult time for everyone at Rolls-Royce and we greatly appreciate our employees’ patience and support.

“Aviation has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and is not expected to recover for several years, which means we are making tough decisions across our business. We urge our team in Barnoldswick to keep working with us on our proposals for the future of the site, which include playing an important role in developing new fan blade technology.

“We are doing everything we can to avoid compulsory redundancies and to date, we have been able to mitigate the majority of the 54 compulsory redundancies proposed earlier this year. We remain committed to meaningful consultation with employee representatives and trade unions and ask them to work alongside us as we deal with the impact of the pandemic on our business.

“Any industrial action on the Barnoldswick site is not expected to impact the wider restructuring activities we have proposed across the organisation.”