Mayor to sign union charter backing manufacturing jobs as new analysis shows sector employs 110,000 workers and brings £8.5 billion boost to London economy
A major union campaign to support manufacturing jobs is today set to win the backing of London Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The Mayor will join GMB union activists at a City Hall event this morning, where he will formally back the union’s campaign to support manufacturing jobs by signing the union’s ‘Making It’ charter [1].
It comes as new GMB analysis reveals manufacturing employs 110,000 workers in the capital, boosting the London economy by £8.5 billion a year [2].
Food manufacturing is now the largest manufacturing sub-sector in London, employing 24,000 people. Other significant manufacturing strands in the capital include fabricated metal products (14,000 jobs), printing and reproduction of recorded media (10,000 jobs), wearing apparel (6,000 jobs) and computer, electronic and optical products (5,000 jobs).
Among the top manufacturing hot spots around London are Ealing (13,000 jobs with a £765 million boost), Harrow and Hillingdon (10,000 jobs and a £891 million boost), Barking, Dagenham and Havering (8,500 jobs and a £923 million boost) and Brent (8,000 jobs and a £576 million boost). [3 – see notes to editors for full London-wide breakdown].
Jude Brimble, GMB National Secretary said:
“It’s often said that we don’t make anything here anymore, but that’s wrong. Our Making It campaign reveals the truth about manufacturing and celebrates the work GMB members proudly do every day.
“We’re delighted to have the Mayor’s backing for our ambitious charter to support manufacturing jobs in London, with this diverse sector supporting more than a hundred thousand livelihoods and bringing billions into the capital.
“At a time when insecure work and the so-called ‘gig-economy’ are growing, manufacturing workers are often skilled workers in full-time employment and on permanent contracts. Wages in manufacturing are on average 20 per cent higher than in the wider economy – these jobs are worth fighting for.”
Shaun Graham, GMB London Region Senior Organiser said:
“The idea behind the Making It campaign is to bring together the industrial and political agendas in support of UK manufacturing.
“GMB wants to ensure that our members who work in manufacturing, businesses and politicians are aligned to a positive vision of UK manufacturing for now and into the future.
“We know from the Government Impact Assessment that UK manufacturing will potentially experience significant negative impacts as a result of Brexit, so this cooperation is more important than ever.
“The potential impact on the UK food industry is of particular concern for GMB London and thousands of our members who work in food production in North West London – any adverse impacts will have a massive impact on those workers and their tight knit communities.
“GMB is committed to ensure that we have a voice in the future of manufacturing with regards to having the right skills, training and apprenticeships in place.”
