Union issues call for investment to be directed at manufacturing sector, education and skills development

Unite Regional Officer, Liam Gallagher, issued the following reaction on behalf of his union to the recently announced Derry and Strabane city deal.

“We welcome the announcement of a significant financial package for Derry and Strabane; however we call for this injection to be properly targeted towards creating higher value, decent employment to replace the loss of our manufacturing base. This should not end up as another cash bonanza for speculators and developers to develop glass-fronted office blocks in order to accommodate more call centres offering only low-paid work.

“Unite is calling for the stimulus to be directed into manufacturing research and training to provide the high-end skills necessary to compete in attracting higher-value added jobs. Investment in the economy must be matched with money for primary and secondary education to deal with the fact that disproportionately high levels of our young leave school with no formal qualification. Ultimately this stimulus will be judged by the numbers of decent jobs that it creates”, Mr Gallagher said.