European Commission ready to help after 900 Gallaher’s job losses, say Martin McGuinness and Martina Anderson MEP

THE European Commission is ready and willing to help on the 900 Gallahers cigarette factory job losses announced this week, Sinn Féin MLA and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said today after MEP Martina Anderson had been in contact with the European Commission Office.

The jobs from the Ballymena plant are earmarked by owners JTI Gallaher’s to be moved by transferring its operations to Poland and Romania.

Martin McGuinness said it is a “devastating blow” to the local economy.

Now he is seeking a meeting with the European Commission to examine how a successful application could be made to the Globalisation Fund in relation to the JTI Gallaher’s job losses.

This follows correspondence between Sinn Féin MEP Martina Anderson and the head of the Commission Office for the North of Ireland, Collette Fitzgerald, who has stated that the Commission is ready and willing to process an application.

Martin McGuinness said that Martina Anderson MEP’s move follows on the back of a successful application by Austria only last year after JTI pulled out of that particular country and resulted in €6million being delivered for the reskilling and retraining of those who lost their jobs.

“I will be in Brussels next week and will seeking a meeting with the Commission and the Director General for Employment who is responsible for processing an application to the Globalisation Fund in order to attempt to expedite this work,” Martin McGuinness said.

“It is my understanding that this is a fund that must be applied for by Westminster and that Europe will provide 60% of any package with Westminster supplying the other 40%.

“Given the sheer scale of the job losses, there is an onus on the British Government to respond positively to supporting the JTI employees in whatever way they can.”

Smokescreen

Yesterday, Martina Anderson said it was irresponsible and wrong for some political figures to link the closure of Gallaher’s to an EU directive geared to prevent children from smoking. 

“We need to be very clear about the reasons for the relocation of JTI at the cost of 900 jobs,” the MEP said.

“The EU tobacco directive does not take effect until 2016. JTI have also stated they are locating to other EU member states. These too will be equally affected by the directive.

“The reason for JTI Gallaher's closing their plant in Ballymena is to increase its profit margins and save money on labour costs by moving to a country with lower wages.

“It is irresponsible for elected representatives to provide cover for JTI or seek to score inaccurate political points on the back of job losses.

“We should be standing together as elected representatives in order to provide those who have lost their jobs with a focused retraining and reskilling package.

“Our focus should be asking very clearly as to why the British Government has never applied to the European Union’s Globalisation Fund for workers in the North of Ireland which is designed to help those who have been made redundant.”