THE Transport and General Workers' Union says figures show that manufacturing in the south-west will end by 2043, unless the government and employers work with trade unions to secure a stable future for industry.
Unions gathered in Birmingham at the end of last month for a rally, bringing together workers and communities and calling for an end to the decline of the UK's manufacturing industry.
UK manufacturing employs 3.41 million people, but they are losing their jobs at a rate of 126,363 a year.
The south-west employs 279,000 people in manufacturing, but is losing an average 7,000 jobs a year.
On these figures, says the T & G, the region will see the end of manufacturing by 2043 unless the government and employers act to end the decline.
Tony Woodley, T&G general secretary, said: "An industrial base that took two hundred years to build up has been nearly destroyed in twenty years.
"We say 'enough'.
"Government action must be immediate, as millions of jobs and a balanced economy still depend on the success of UK manufacturing."
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