From the Record - Bosch

Leanne Wood: Thank you for your statement on these job losses, Deputy First Minister. There is no doubt that this news is a severe blow to people living in the communities around Llantrisant and the surrounding Valleys. In the Rhondda where I live, everyone knows someone that is connected with Bosch in one way or another. For far too many communities, this news is nothing short of a disaster. Will you confirm, again, that the Assembly Government has left no stone unturned in trying to persuade Bosch to continue production at the site?

Will you also confirm that, regardless of what was offered to the company, the reality is that Bosch decided to close the plant and relocate to Hungary? How confident are you that everything possible was done to try to persuade the company to stay? What steps can be taken to ensure that the site is utilised in the future for green manufacturing?

There is little that the Welsh Assembly Government can do about the downturn in the global automotive industry, and as many Members have said, this closure will create big ripples. Many people are reliant upon car-part firms which have supplied Bosch or other car-related manufacturers. The future of some of those firms now looks uncertain.

Bosch was established at that site with millions of pounds from the Welsh Development Agency. It was part of the failed inward investment strategy which was designed to provide cash incentives for firms to set up in areas which had been decimated by the pit closures that were carried out by the last Conservative Government. The news confirms that a strategy which competed on the basis of low wages could never be a success. Therefore, can you give an assurance that everything will be done to ensure that jobs are available for all those affected by the Bosch decision?

Furthermore, will you give an assurance that never again will firms be offered taxpayers’ cash on the basis of cheap labour? After all, the firms will only up sticks as soon as the incentives run out and when labour becomes cheaper elsewhere.

Sacking them on the cheap

Last week it transpired that the UK government intends to cut the redundancy package currently available to civil servants. Cynics think it may have something to do with plans to sell off government assets like the Royal Mint, Llantrisant. The Mint is will be more attractive to potential buyers if they can lay off people 'on-the-cheap'. This is from last weeks Record of Proceedings:

Leanne Wood: The UK Government seeks to make changes to the civil service compensation scheme that governs redundancy and early retirement payments to employees of all devolved and non-devolved Government departments as well as those of many other public bodies. Those changes will rob thousands of hard-working employees of a third of the value of the redundancy payment that they thought that they could expect as a right. Even though Tessa Jowell agreed with the unions in September that talks with officials should be reopened to secure a mutually acceptable outcome, that has not happened. A slightly improved set of proposals were circulated to all civil servants by permanent secretaries as a fait accompli on Friday 4 December, with no prior consultation with the trade unions. Given the implications for the staff of the Welsh Assembly Government, the National Assembly for Wales and Assembly Government sponsored bodies, will the Assembly Government make representations to the Cabinet Office for the resumption of negotiations in good faith as a matter of urgency? Furthermore, will the Leader of the House make time available for this issue to be discussed in Plenary as soon as possible in the new year?

Carwyn Jones: On the civil service compensation scheme, it is important that all channels are kept open to make sure that there is a satisfactory solution, particularly for those who may be affected by the scheme. I will ensure that I investigate the situation, and if there is a need to offer a view on behalf of the Government, that will be done. At the moment, it is a matter for negotiation between the unions and the UK Government. I hope that it is something that will be resolved satisfactorily in the future.

Breaking News: Royal Mint to be Privatised

I have learnt ahead of the official announcement that the UK Government will be privatising the Royal Mint at Llantrisant.

The Mint made a profit of £10m last year and according to Rhodri Morgan is due to take on additional staff as a result of winning the contract to produce medals for the Olympics. The PCS Union is deeply concerned about the effect this will have on jobs.

Plaid Cymru has consistently opposed the privatisation of the Mint. The Welsh Government is against it, the workers are against it and the local communities are against it.

The Mint was brought to Llantrisant in 1967 as part of a "regional economic strategy" to redistribute jobs throughout the UK.

Labour MP Huw Irranca-Davies recently said:

"Look at some of the benefits we've had over the years in terms of public sector jobs...in Llantrisant we've had the Royal Mint, relocated by Jim Callaghan."

"If Plaid Cymru, Adam Price or anbody else want to enter the debate about what independence would mean for Wales, they have to explain how those jobs would be defended."

How can the UK Government argue that they are defending Welsh jobs now?