Brexit would be “devastating blow” to UK manufacturing, says TUC report

Thousands of jobs would disappear and working people would be worse off if Britain leaves the EU, according to a new report from the Trades Union Congress. Labour’s Angela Eagle said the report showed that Brexit would be a “devastating blow to our manufacturing sector”.

The TUC is backing a vote to remain in the EU, as are many individual trade unions including Unite, GMB and Unison.

The new research finds that working people would be out of pocket to the tune of more than £150 a month if the UK votes Out on June 23, and TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady says that it is now “clear” that jobs would go.

“Working people will be £38 a week worse off if we leave,” O’Grady said. “£38 a week may not be much for politicians like Boris Johnson – a man who described his £250,000 fee for a weekly newspaper column as ‘chicken feed’.

“But for millions of workers, it’s the difference between heating or eating, between struggling or saving, and between getting by or getting on.“

O’Grady also stressed the impact that a vote to leave would have on the jobs market and, in particular, manufacturing jobs.

“What’s absolutely clear is that jobs would go. And not just any old jobs – we’d be losing high-pay, high-skill, high-productivity jobs.

“We’d lose manufacturing jobs that pay £100 a week more than service sector equivalents. These are good jobs in the regions outside of London that need them most.”

Shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle reacted to the report, saying it laid bare the effect Brexit would have on people’s wages, as well as industries that rely on the single market.

“Britain’s membership of the EU is vital for wages, jobs and rights at work too,” Eagle said.

“As this important report shows, leaving the EU would hit working people hard, prolonging the squeeze on wages. It would also be a devastating blow to our manufacturing sector, which depends on access to the largest single market in the world.”