The union Unite may be stirring it (current internal elections could be driving this) to claim that an “unknown” car plant will close with the loss of 6000 jobs. They will look silly if this does not happen.
What worries me is Mandy's reaction warning:
against "feeding rumours" and said such comments could in themselves cause damage to the UK car industry.
True, but why say, "feeding rumours". This will wind the union up rather than calm the situation. Much better for Mandy to have said nothing in public but deal with the matter privately. Is Mandy the right person to be handling these issues? Relationship building is hardly his strong point.
This leads to a wider issue that could mushroom with unemployment climbing. The unions are going to defend their members, it their job. They are also going to say, “you bailed out the banks, the US has bailed out the car industry, what about us?”
The Government needs a “bail out” strategy, rather than knee jerk reactions every time a union leader speaks, with the prospect of many jobs at stake. Otherwise the unions and their members will strike a mood with the wider public. “British jobs for British workers” is a case in point.
Another case of Labour just reacting to events, that could have wide implications for relationships with their paymasters.
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I suspect that his response came naturally, because of his own modus operandi which is to feed propaganda, often in the form of manufactured "rumours", to the media and others.
ReplyDeleteIf you imagine yourself in his situation, it becomes a second-nature response to anything like this, because it is in accord with what you yourself have been doing for years.
It makes for an interesting perspective, and helps to explain the most likjely reason behind Mandy's stance in this case.