{"id":12186,"date":"2017-12-10T16:45:06","date_gmt":"2017-12-10T16:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/?p=12186"},"modified":"2021-02-17T14:57:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T14:57:40","slug":"bombardier-boeing-dispute-threatens-workers-in-the-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/republicancommunist.org\/blog\/2017\/12\/10\/bombardier-boeing-dispute-threatens-workers-in-the-north\/","title":{"rendered":"BOMBARDIER-BOEING DISPUTE THREATENS WORKERS IN THE NORTH"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bombardier is a Canadian owned aircraft company which\u00a0employs 4000 people in Belfast. At the moment these workers’ jobs, pay and conditions \u00a0are threatened as an\u00a0outcome\u00a0 of growing American\u00a0<\/strong>protectionism,\u00a0reflected through the Northern Irish political set-up, which hamstrings any effective trade union response.\u00a0This consequences of this are\u00a0explained in this article from\u00a0Socialist Democracy (Ireland)\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

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BOMBARDIER-BOEING DISPUTE THREATENS WORKERS IN NORTH<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Bombardier aerospace factory Belfast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The ongoing dispute between aerospace companies Bombardier and Boeing – which has raised fears over future of production at Bombardier\u2019s Belfast facility – has served to highlight the highly integrated nature of modern capitalism and the exposure of the Northern Ireland economy to global upheavals.<\/p>\n

Tariffs<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the rivalry between Bombardier and Boeing \u2013 over Bombardier\u2019s efforts to enter the passenger jet market with its C-Series project \u2013 has been ongoing for some time it escalated dramatically in September when the US commerce department imposed tariffs of nearly 300% on the Canadian company\u2019s jets.\u00a0\u00a0 This decision followed from a complaint from Boeing of unfair competition after Delta Airlines ordered 75 CS100 model aircraft from Bombardier.<\/p>\n

With the imposition of tariffs this deal was now in doubt.\u00a0 Moreover, the prospect of being shut out of the US market threatened the whole C-Series project and even the future of Bombardier itself given the resources committed to it.\u00a0 With Bombardier already struggling with the lower than expected sales of this new product and a downturn in its traditional business jet market this was a hammer blow.<\/p>\n

Belfast<\/strong><\/p>\n

Given the central role of the Belfast plant in the C-Series project \u2013 and the importance of Bombardier to the wider economy \u2013 the potential consequences of the decision by the US commerce department are severe.\u00a0\u00a0 The highest profile department of its Belfast operation is that responsible for the development and production of composite wings for the C-Series, which is housed in a \u00a3520 million plant officially opened in 2013.\u00a0 It is estimated that more than sixty per cent of the local Bombardier workforce depend on C-Series production for their employment<\/p>\n

Bombardier not only dominates the north\u2019s aerospace sector \u2013 the most advanced part of the northern economy \u2013 but also the wider manufacturing sector.\u00a0 One of the largest private companies in Northern Ireland it directly employs around 5,500 workers with thousands more employed in its supply chain industries.\u00a0 Bombardier accounts for around seven per cent of all manufacturing jobs in the region (almost 50 percent of the total number of manufacturing jobs in Belfast alone) and produces ten percent of north\u2019s total manufacturing exports.\u00a0 Indeed, this concentration of employment and output is a feature of the local manufacturing sector with just one percent of companies accounting for half of that work in manufacturing and forty nine percent of turnover.\u00a0 This makes it highly vulnerable to downturns not only in the global economy but also within particular sectors (such as aerospace) and even individual companies.<\/p>\n

Airbus intervention<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dispute over the C-Series took another dramatic turn in October when Bombardier announced a co-operation agreement with the European aerospace consortium Airbus.\u00a0\u00a0 Under its terms the Airbus Group will take a controlling interest in a joint venture to produce the C-Series project.\u00a0\u00a0 Airbus has also been given an option of taking complete control of the venture by buying out the other shareholders (Bombardier and the government of Quebec) at a later date.<\/p>\n

The critical element of this deal is that final assembly of the C-Series jet will be moved from the Bombardier plant in Quebec to the Airbus facility in Mobile, Alabama.\u00a0 It is assumed that this location will make the US penalties obsolete.\u00a0 There is also another benefit to this site that has gotten little attention in the fanfare surrounding the deal and that is the fact that it is non-union plant.\u00a0 This is facilitated by Alabama being a so-called \u201cright to work\u201d state where draconian labour laws make it very difficult for to unions to establish a presence within companies.<\/p>\n

The opinion of most industry commentators on the C-Series deal is that it is very favourable to Airbus.\u00a0 The company has taken control of the production of a very innovative product at no cost and also outflanked its fierce rival Boeing.\u00a0 For Bombardier however the deal represents a major retreat from its long held objective of taking on Airbus and Boeing in the lucrative passenger jet market.\u00a0 It also makes made little to no impact on the financial pressures faced by the company in the present<\/p>\n

Challenges<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the Bombardier\/Airbus agreement on the C-Series project there is an assumption that the threat to the Belfast facility has receded.\u00a0 However, this is not the case at all.\u00a0 As it stands the tariffs are still in place and the C-Series remains effectively blocked from the US market.\u00a0 The belief that the transfer of production to a facility within the US will subvert any attempt to impose tariffs is uncertain.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In a recent statement on the dispute by the US Commerce secretary about \u201cadjusting\u201d its tariff regime was ambiguous and could actually signal a closing of the loophole that Bombardier\/Airbus hope to take advantage of.\u00a0 This will be known when the Department makes its final ruling nest February.<\/p>\n

Even if the tariffs are lifted the entry of the C-Series into the US market will be further delayed.\u00a0\u00a0 Since the Airbus-Bombardier C Series deal isn’t expected to close until the second half of 2018, it could be 2019 or 2020 before Delta sees its first planes.\u00a0 There is no guarantee that the C-Series, even with the backing of Airbus, will be a commercial success.<\/p>\n

Also, the structure of the deal – with no payment being made – does little to ease the financial pressures on Bombardier and the ongoing demands on its workers.\u00a0 The company\u2019s cost cutting is still in place and redundancies are ongoing.\u00a0 Indeed, shortly after the announced of the C-Series deal Bombardier announced a further 280 redundancies within its Belfast facilities.\u00a0\u00a0 As a company Bombardier is no less ruthless in its pursuit of cost savings that Airbus or Boeing.\u00a0\u00a0 Its approach was summed up by Michael Ryan, head of its Belfast operation:\u00a0 \u201cThe whole global aerospace world is looking at how they can optimise their cost-base and that includes going to what we would call lower cost countries. If we want to compete being in a global market place then we need to take advantage of that where it\u2019s relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n

The opening of a low cost facility in the US, which is the centre piece of the C-Series deal, will bring even greater pressure upon the workers in Belfast.\u00a0\u00a0 Those who see this deal as a saviour are therefore likely to be disappointed.<\/p>\n

Rivalry<\/strong><\/p>\n

The disputes within the aerospace industry are but one example of the increasing tensions between states and the accelerating drive towards a full blown trade war.\u00a0 The most blatant manifestation of this the \u201cAmerica First\u201d programme of the Trump administration, which seeks to halt the accelerating decline of US global economic power through protectionism and economic nationalism.\u00a0 We also see it in Brexit and the increasingly acrimonious negotiations over Britain\u2019s future relationship with the EU.\u00a0\u00a0 At this stage it is largely economic power that is being applied but we know from history that military force often follows.\u00a0\u00a0 The US threats to North Korea \u2013 which are really aimed at its principal economic rival China \u2013 show the real possibility of major wars breaking out in the near future.<\/p>\n

Trade union response<\/strong><\/p>\n

What has marked the trade union response to concerns over the future of the Bombardier plant in Belfast has been the complete absence of a class perspective.\u00a0\u00a0 Despite being organisations that claim to represent workers, Unite (whose members are most immediately affected) and the broader trade union movement in the form of ICTU, have not put forward proposals that identify or defend the distinct interests of workers.\u00a0\u00a0 By denying that there are any class divisions they subordinate workers completely to the demands of companies; to the interests of the capitalist class within a region or nation; and to development strategies of various layers of government.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Within this framework \u2013 where the overriding imperatives are the maximization of profitability and the creation of a favourable environment for capital investment \u2013 all the working class can do is to make the sacrifices that are demanded. This is essentially the social partnership model.<\/p>\n

While it may not be as formalised (compared to the south) it still underpins the approach of unions within the northern state.\u00a0 This has been the case for some time, particularly in the most recent period of Stormont rule when trade unions facilitated various \u201creforms\u201d of public services.\u00a0 It was made very explicit by ICTU\u2019s endorsement of the programme of austerity contained within the Fresh Start Agreement of 2015.\u00a0 The whole thrust of this was the demand that workers make sacrifices to preserve the political institutions.\u00a0 For the trade union leadership their role is not to be an opposition (a scenario described by ICTU as \u201ccatastrophic\u201d) but to be an assisting partner.<\/p>\n

This approach is not confined to the state sector.\u00a0 Where trade unions have a presence within the private sector, such as in manufacturing, they have played the same role.\u00a0 When Bombardier announced its global restructuring plans in 2016, which included hundreds of job losses at its Belfast plant, the response of trade union was to offer assistance in managing the reductions.\u00a0 This followed on from the previous year when Unite balloted its members on proposals for a pay cut.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 These proposals were overwhelming rejected despite there being no direction from the leadership.<\/p>\n

Alongside collaboration with management the trade union approach also involved appeals to government.\u00a0\u00a0 Peter Bunting, assistant general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions declared that Northern Ireland \u201curgently needs a comprehensive and ambitious manufacturing strategy\u201d. Unite called on the Executive to \u201credouble their efforts and secure alternative employment for those highly skilled workers who will be made redundant\u201d and for Invest NI [the inward investment agency] to \u201ccommit themselves fully to pro-actively seeking foreign investment in manufacturing.\u201d\u00a0 This is despite the fact that Bombardier had already received \u00a375 million of state assistance between 2002 and 2015.<\/p>\n

The latest crisis surrounding Bombardier has seen the same campaign rolled out again.\u00a0\u00a0 Coming against the backdrop of escalating trade disputes and the collapse of the political institutions in the north it has taken on an even more desperate and reactionary character.\u00a0 Under the banner of #BackBomabardier (so completely identifying with the company) the Unite led campaign has consisted largely of lobbying various layers of government.\u00a0 Despite the absence of a Stormont Executive there have been appeals to the DUP and Sinn Fein to support Bombardier \u2013 the DUP through its influence with the Conservative government at Westminster and Sinn Fein through its political contacts in the US.<\/p>\n

Most of the focus of the trade union lobbying is on the British government.\u00a0 The main demands put forward are for a more confrontational approach towards the US administration over tariffs and the adoption of similar protectionist policies.\u00a0\u00a0 This was the clear message from Unite\u2019s most senior official in Ireland – Jimmy Kelly \u2013 when he called on the government to\u00a0\u00a0 \u201csecure orders from British carriers for Bombardier aircraft\u201d and also to \u201cimmediately review all contracts with Boeing\u201d.\u00a0 This could be seen as a call from the trade union to escalate the trade dispute.\u00a0 Any ambiguity was removed when Kelly went on to say that: \u201cIf other countries are going to erect protectionist barriers to UK companies, our government needs to be proactive in response.\u201d<\/p>\n

The close economic relations between Britain and the US, added to the desperation of the British government to make post-Brexit trade deals, makes such a scenario unlikely.\u00a0 But even it were a realistic prospect the consequences would be thoroughly reactionary with workers being lined up with their employers and their governments against workers in other states.\u00a0 It is also reactionary in the sense that it ignores the reality of an integrated global economy in which production is spread over many countries.\u00a0\u00a0 The aerospace industry is a prime example of this trend.\u00a0\u00a0 In all the talk about protecting jobs in wasn\u2019t mentioned that Boeing actually employs more people in Britain than Bombardier does.\u00a0\u00a0 Despite this Unite were calling for a review of procurement contracts that would have put the jobs of those workers (many of them union members) under direct threat!\u00a0\u00a0 This is a ridiculous scenario but it is one that follows from trade unions pandering to economic nationalism.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Other aspects of this have been the endorsement by some in British trade union leadership of job reservation (\u201cBritish jobs for British workers) and restrictions on labour migration.<\/p>\n

Peace Process<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the northern state \u2013 as well as these reactionary ideas \u2013 you can also layer in the politics of the peace process.\u00a0 Any potential for major job losses comes with warnings on how it will impact negatively on the political settlement.\u00a0 This informs the statement by Jimmy Kelly that the agreement is \u201cunder threat the whole time from unemployment\u201d and that jobs are needed \u201cto keep young people away from dissidents and paramilitaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pleas for the \u201cpeace process\u201d are the default position for the trade unions on nearly every issue.\u00a0\u00a0 For example, many of the current ills in society are being put down to the absence of an Executive.\u00a0 But what is the evidence that its restoration would bring any remedies?\u00a0 The problems in public services were there before its collapse.\u00a0 Moreover, its record on delivering social improvements during its previous seven years of existence was poor.\u00a0 With the adoption of an austerity programme (one endorsed the trade unions) that will run for the foreseeable future the potential for of the Executive in this area is even less.\u00a0 But even if resources were not an issue and the political institutions were restored they could still not deliver any progress.\u00a0 This was not their purpose.\u00a0 Rather they were about managing sectarian and distributing patronage \u2013 a system that ultimately proved to be unsustainable.<\/p>\n

The proposition that there is a link between unemployment and the activities of \u201cdissidents and paramilitaries\u201d is also dubious.\u00a0 It is also quite dishonest.\u00a0 The reference to \u201cparamilitaries\u201d obviously refers to loyalists.\u00a0 Yet over the period of the peace process these groups \u2013 rather than going away – have become even more entrenched in working class communities.\u00a0 Indeed, it is loyalists who have been some of the main beneficiaries of the patronage mentioned above.\u00a0 Shamefully, trade unions through their role in the community sector, have helped to legitimise this process.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 This is consistent with the historic role trade union movement in the north of presenting itself as even-handed while at the same time accommodating to loyalism and unionism.<\/p>\n

Economic dividend<\/strong><\/p>\n

What the trade union statements around Bombardier do point towards \u2013 though not explicitly \u2013 is the absence of an economic peace dividend for the north.\u00a0 Though there has been an expansion of the economy has not been of the order expected in the wake of the Agreement.\u00a0 It is also the case that most of the growth that has taken place has been the result of additional public spending rather that investment by private capital.\u00a0 Another trend is that within the private sector high wage high skill manufacturing jobs are being displaced by low wage call centre\/retail type jobs.\u00a0\u00a0 We see this in the recent complete shutdown of the Michelin and JTI Gallagher facilities and the ongoing redundancies at Bombardier, Caterpillar and the oil field services firm Schlumberger.\u00a0 Overall, the Northern Ireland economy remains (almost twenty years into the peace process) one marked by low wages and state dependency.<\/p>\n

Brexit<\/strong><\/p>\n

The potential impact of Brexit could depress the northern economy even further.\u00a0 Any hard border scenario \u2013 in which the north is removed from the customs union and single market \u2013 would cause huge disruption to north south trade and investment.\u00a0 Indeed, a number of high profile companies based in the north are already making contingency plans to move production.\u00a0 In a development directly related to Bombardier the UK head of Airbus recently told a parliamentary committee that it would consider moving its wings design facilities (described as the \u201ccrown jewels\u201d of manufacturing) if\u00a0 products were subject to tariffs.\u00a0 This was taken to be a reference to its plant in Wales, but given that Airbus has now taken a controlling state in the C-Series it could also apply to the Bombardier plant in Belfast.<\/p>\n

A workers campaign<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is needed in response to the threats to jobs at Bombardier is a workers campaign that puts the class interest to the fore.\u00a0 This would be in complete contrast to the current campaign that denies the class issues and seeks to line up workers behind their \u201cown\u201d employers and governments.\u00a0 Such a campaign \u2013 which it is subordinated to forces that are hostile to labour \u2013 can only end in defeat.\u00a0 The only reliable allies of workers at Bombardier in Belfast are other workers \u2013 whether that be in Bombardier facilities elsewhere or in other companies (such as Airbus and Boeing) across the aerospace sector.<\/p>\n

This points to the need for a co-ordinated campaign of action that organises workers across corporate and national boundaries.\u00a0 It is only through such a class based and international approach that attempts to play workers off against each other in a race to the bottom can be effectively countered. At present this does not exist but the first essential step towards it is the recognition there is a working class interest.\u00a0 For socialists and trade union activists the task is to promote working class independence at every level.<\/p>\n

28.11.17<\/strong><\/p>\n

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This was first posted at:-<\/p>\n

http:\/\/socialistdemocracy.org\/RecentArticles\/RecentBombardierBoeingDisputeThreatensWorkersInNorth.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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____________<\/p>\n

for other articles on recent events in Northern Ireland see:-<\/p>\n

NORTHERN IRELAND UPDATE – THE CONTINUING IMPACT OF REACTIONARY UNIONISM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n