THE Craven Herald has recently covered the strike by Unite trade union members at the Rolls Royce plant, Barnoldswick.

Rolls Royce planned to move manufacturing from the UK to Singapore and Spain resulting in the immediate loss of 350 jobs. The workers feared that the reduced size of the plant would make it unviable in the future so would face total closure.

They opposed these proposals with nine weeks of strike action and were supported by the community of Barnoldswick and neighbouring towns as well as the Labour Party and other trade unions.

The good news, is that they have now won. The agreement between the trade union and Rolls Royce provides for a minimum of 10 years manufacturing at the site during which time they will re tool and diversify in order to be able to manufacture products which contribute to the future green economy.

In addition there is to be a new training centre at Barnoldswick. This is excellent news for the workers whose jobs are saved and for the whole economy in our region. It is also an example of the need for organised trade unions. Left to their own devices Rolls Royce would have run the site down leading to hundreds of redundancies, probable eventual complete closure and all the poverty and deprivation for the area which goes with it.

It is the trade unions that had the courage and spirit to fight against what was always a bad decision by Rolls Royce, and the workforce at Barnoldswick are to be applauded for their victory. They have done us all a favour.

Peter Bell

Gargrave