Unite and Hitachi urge government for immediate investment in UK train manufacturers

The Unite union has written to Chris Grayling, with Hitachi’s backing, warning the government to support UK manufacturing, jobs and skills by investing in rail infrastructure or risk “shunting the UK’s rail manufacturing renaissance into the sidings.” The letter from Unite to the transport secretary calls for new rolling stock contracts to be awarded to UK factories and warns its members at Hitachi are “increasingly worried that without new work there are currently no new orders in the pipeline.” Unite’s assistant general secretary Steve Turner warned that high-quality skilled jobs which sustain communities could be hit unless the government brings forward new passenger train contracts and awards them to companies in the UK.