The Hull Daily Mail has launched a bid to save up to 900 BAe Systems jobs on its patch by depicting the ‘human face’ of the proposed mass redundancies.
Earlier this week the defence giant announced plans to axe 3,000 jobs at three locations across the North of England.
They include 900 jobs at BAe’s aviation manufacturing facility at Brough, East Yorkshire.
Now the Mail has launched a ‘Battle for Brough’ campaign in a bid to reverse the decision and preserve 95 years of plane-making at the site.
Today’s paper included a special front and back page wraparound and two inside spreads.
The paper had the idea of trying to picture as many of the threatened workers outside the plant as possible, to show the human face of the proposed job cuts.
It asked local union officials and individual workers to help co-ordinate the gathering by putting the word out around the plant by e-mail, text and word of mouth.
As a result 700 workers trooped out of the plant at 12.15pm yesterday to be photographed for the wraparound by picture editor Jim Mitchell.
Editor John Meehan, who is due to leave the paper shortly, said: “They say a picture can say more than a thousand words. Well this is a case in point. It shows hundreds of skilled workers who could be cast into unemployment.
“How can it be right to shed so many highly-skilled jobs and close down a centre of manufacturing excellence when the Government says it is a priority to support the economy and rebalance it in favour of manufacturing?
“The loss of so many jobs and manufacturing expertise and capability would be a disaster for East Yorkshire, but also a major blow to UK Plc.
“We’re determined to do all we can to support the efforts to reverse this damaging and short-sighted decision.”
John said the mail’s campaign will support the efforts of BAE Systems workers, trade unions and local politicians to persuade the company to reverse the decision to end Brough’s proud history as “the home of the Hawk”.
He said Brough was being unfairly sacrificed in favour of other UK plants and that there was a “powerful case” to be made to BAE Systems and the Government to retain the site as a manufacturing centre.
This is the second time the Mail has campaigned to save the Brough site and hundreds of jobs there.
In 2002 and 2003 the Mail mounted the ‘Sign It Now!’ campaign, successfully urging the Government to agree a £10bn contract to build a new fleet of Hawk jets for the RAF.
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Hats off to the photographer who managed to take the picture! Ironically, as a former reporter of the Mail we were told never to touch any news coming out of Brough because it wasn’t in the paper’s circulation area. Having said that the economics of hitting an extra potential 900 readers speaks for itself and I guess some do actually live in Hull or the areas where the paper is on sale. Moreover, the Mail successfully helped to save the jobs last time around and it’s a great cause. Good luck to the Mail and all those whose jobs are at risk.
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Yes, I agree with Former Journo. Great pic. And a picture was always worth a thousand words, John. What price a picture of the 500 or so Northcliffe have laid off this year?
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So the Hull Daily Mail launches a campaign to save BAe jobs. What about other jobs lost or under threat in East Yorkshire? Will they fight for them… no they won’t. These arbitary campaigns get right on my proverbials. I feel for the thousands of people who have lost their job in East Yorkshire recently yet BAe gets special treatment AGAIN. A cynical attempt to gain sales is what it is. Disgusting!
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Good to see HDM supporting companies like this…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/jun/27/bae.saudiarabia
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I wanted to make you aware of a campaign we are running in order to help those who face redundancy, we are offering to help candidates engage with new employers by putting them in touch with our clients operating in the engineering, manufacturing and aerospace industries. If the client is looking to recruit, we will waive our fee if the candidate is a BAE employee.
Here is the LinkedIn campaign. http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Let-s-help-those-BAE-1988204.S.72894369?view=&gid=1988204&type=member&item=72894369
LET’S “KEEP BRITAIN WORKING” – TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
All the best,
Phil.
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Former journo Reading
Are you sure you worked for the HDM?
Brough is right in the heart of the paper’s operation. It might be called the East Riding Mail now but has always been there!
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Very powerful image. Regardless of politics, this is local journalism at its best.
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Powerful stuff. Done well. Well done.
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Don’t suppose the children blown into oblivion by weapons made by this company would view their extinction as politics, Blonde, but there you go…have a look at Dying Breed’s link why don’t you?
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Re Dying Breed. Oh yes I’m sure I worked at the HDM. I had three and a half ‘happy’ years as their East Riding Council reporter breaking stories such as the council chief executive’s £36,000 pay rise alongside a hike in council tax!
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Local newspapers always have a problem with this sort of thing. They should campaign to protect local jobs but it’s difficult if those jobs are involved in something as unsavoury as this.
What they should do is campaign for Government help to give tax breaks and assistance to new companies setting up in the area, so that the people at Bae facing the threat of redundancy at least will get some assistance to find new jobs.
As it is, they are in the position of campaigning for the preservation of a factory that makes weapons that kill people, which is unfortunate.
They’d have the same problem if it was a cigarette factory, I guess.
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Journo, Reading
I lived in Brough for 15 years and my family got the HDM every day!
Always wondered why there wasn’t much Brough news!
Now I know the then news editors were clueless as to here the newspaper was available to buy!
What a shambles
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