Devonport From Trident jobs to
green employment
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Some people, including some trade unions, argue that the UK’s Trident nuclear weapons system helps sustain thousands of high-quality jobs in the UK, including jobs in Plymouth, my South West constituency. This report blows that argument clean out of the water. For far less public money, we could invest in socially productive employment to replace Trident-related jobs. We can abandon Trident replacement while maintaining employment and start transferring investment and skills into socially useful and sustainable jobs, making use of all the fantastic skills and resources available at Devonport. Trident is militarily useless, immoral and a breach of our obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Creating new green jobs can be viewed as an act of peace; nuclear defence as an act of war. MOLLY SCOTT CATO, GREEN MEP FOR THE SOUTH WEST
Read the full report! Devonport: Trident alternatives – an overview of green employment potential is available from http://mollymep.org.uk/devonport/
devonport: trident alternatives an overview of green employment potential Devonport in Plymouth is the current base for refitting Trident submarines. This report takes available data and explores how the current 2000 or so Tridentrelated jobs in Plymouth could be replaced within the emerging local ‘green’ economy, making use of the great potential of existing local skills and facilities. KEY FINDINGS • Devonport naval base is a major local employer, and will remain so in regard to non-Trident defence-related employment. • From a ‘UK defence jobs’ perspective, decommissioning Trident is both possible and desirable: the current jobs linked with Trident are limited, and these jobs can and should be replaced through a growing renewables sector. • Plymouth’s potential for new ‘green’ jobs and sustainable growth is being hindered by the staggering current and proposed costs of the Trident nuclear weapons system. • The Ministry of Defence is already releasing land to the local authority for civilian use; this process could be accelerated, offering the people of Plymouth opportunities to develop new sustainable local economies and employment. • Some estimates put the life-time cost of Trident renewal as high as £200 billion; it is estimated that renewing Trident would safeguard just 11,500 civilian jobs in the UK as a whole, making them some of the most expensive jobs in the world. • For just a few hundred million pounds of public money, significant green jobs can be created and, when planned properly, Government investment in renewables can be used to lever in significant private investment as shown by the Hull case study on the opposite page.
Devonport dockyards These are the largest naval facilities in western Europe. They were privatised in 1993 and are currently operated by Babcock Marine, the main Ministry of Defence contractor. Babcock undertakes refuelling and repair of the Royal Navy nuclear submarines, which includes Trident submarines.
Hull case study Siemens is opening a wind turbine blade manufacturing plant and a construction and assembly centre at the port of Hull, renamed and redeveloped as ‘Green Port Hull’. Siemens, alongside Associated British Ports, are investing £310 million with the aim of creating 1000 jobs on site with more in the additional build stage. The turbine blades will supply off-shore wind farms in eastern England providing a sustainable, clean and secure form of energy.
RENEWABLE ENERGY AND ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT Wind power is now the leading new power source globally with the UK being the world’s largest off-shore wind market. There are huge and growing opportunities that the nation could be seizing. The UK can utilise the extensive current skills and facilities at Devonport to secure a greener local economy with safe jobs and secure our place in the changing global energy market. The South West is already home to some leading renewable energy companies, and has previously shown how ‘old’ manufacturing industries can morph into the renewables sector. The main high value opportunities are in manufacturing device components and offshore support structures. There is already a precedent in Plymouth including companies such as Kawakaski Precision Engineering and H4 Marine. Regen SW, considers that 12,800 people are already directly employed in the renewable energy sector in the South West. This figure would be even higher if the Conservative government had not hampered the growth of the sector with a range of counterproductive energy policies. Renewable energy is not the only alternative for developing the local green economy and securing increased socially productive employment but the renewables sector illustrates how viable alternative employment could be generated in Devonport following the non-renewal of Trident.
MOLLY SCOTT CATO GREEN MEP FOR THE SOUTH WEST www.mollymep.org.uk @MollyMEP office@mollymep.org.uk 0117 9166598