The Alstom takeover of Bombardier transportation must deliver guarantees for workers and it must ensure long-term industrial capacities to make the most of a high-growth market.
Undeterred by the Covid-19 crisis, Alstom is pushing ahead with its plan to take over Bombardier transportation (BT) as announced in February this year.
Trade unions defending Alstom and BT workers across Europe therefore gathered on 22 June under the industriAll Europe umbrella to join forces and to warn about the many questions left open, four months after the announcement. Travel bans and social distancing did not prevent the 63 worker representatives from 23 trade union organisations in 11 countries to come together in an online coordination meeting.
Europe needs a strong railway equipment industry. To date however, it remains unclear to workers and their unions how the planned takeover will secure the future of both Alstom and BT jobs and sites in Europe. A united message thus emerged from the meeting: European trade unions will fight, all together, for full transparency on the planned takeover and guarantees for all jobs in all countries.
Luc Triangle, industriAll Europe General Secretary:
“Climate change, digitalisation, urbanisation, recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic: all those challenges call for a revised approach to mobility in which the European rail manufacturing industry must play a strategic part. Europe’s railway equipment industry occupies a leading position on the international stage thanks to a highly qualified workforce developing cutting-edge technologies and many years of experience aquired over years. We will never accept that business concentration in the sector puts a world-class workforce and strategic jobs in jeopardy. The Alstom takeover of Bombardier transportation must deliver guarantees for workers and it must ensure long-term industrial capacities to make the most of a high-growth market.”
Joint trade union declaration: EN, FR, DE
Contact: Andrea Husen-Bradley press and communication, Aline Conchon senior adviser on company policy