Job sharing would have helped Britain to win rail contract

From: H Marjorie Gill, Clarence Drive, Menston, West Yorkshire.

I AM sure we are all surprised and disappointed to learn that the manufacturer of railway carriages in Britain has not won the contract to supply carriages for the Thameslink main line rail project (Yorkshire Post, July 6).

We have been told that EU regulations have made this decision compulsory for the Government. What has not been made clear, and I believe this might be the reason, is that as the work was put out to sealed tender, the lowest bid had to be chosen and most likely Siemens were able to put in a lower price.

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Of course, it would have been much better for the British economy for a higher price to be paid (well not too much higher) because of the cost of unemployment payments, but what the management of the British plant and also the unions must do is work out how the British plant can compete better.

I am sure that British workers can compete given the training and willingness to do job-sharing – if their unions are prepared to give the go-ahead.

When we hear all the unions and other dyed-in-the-wool Left-wingers talk about giving the British workers “a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”, one must wonder what patch of sand their heads are buried in.

Contracts which should have gone to British workers are going not to the lower-paid workers in the Far East but to highly unionised workers in Germany.

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It has to be our working practices which are out of date, or perhaps we need more mechanised equipment.

Most people recognise that the biggest costs of a product consist of labour and its add ons, such as pensions and holiday entitlements. If the workers can up their production by one means or another, the firms’ prices will be more competitive.

That is obvious to the most (closed shop) minds. Please will all trade union leaders and shop stewards get this truism into their heads.

It isn’t in their members’ interest to fight against job-sharing. To keep their jobs they must be competitive.

From: Michael Meadowcroft, Waterloo Lane, Leeds.

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DAVID Craggs (Yorkshire Post, July 18) refers to Bombardier “workers in this country who will be made redundant as a result of the Government’s decision”.

This is not the case: Siemens has 13 UK factories and the contract will produce 2,000 additional jobs in Hebburn in the north-east.

Bombardier has also admitted that most of its announced redundancies were inevitable before the current contract went elsewhere.

Mr Craggs also repeats the myth that “both Germany and France always give such contracts to companies within their own country and never consider looking outside”.

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Mr Craggs’ letter appeared just when it was announced that the French Government’s protest at the awarding of the contract for 10 new Eurostar trains – run by the French state company SNCF – to Siemens had failed in the High Court.

Of course we need to promote and develop job opportunities in Britain, but it can only come by continued investment in new techniques and innovative products which ensure we compete successfully with our competitors.

Protectionism does not work, not least if it condemns our home consumers to less effective and more expensive products.