Trident jobs are “some of the most expensive in the world” and could be replaced by green industry, a new report claims ahead of Monday’s parliamentary vote on Britain’s nuclear weapons.
The report, commissioned by Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, looked into alternative jobs for the 2,000 workers currently employed at the refitting base for Trident submarines in Plymouth.
The report found “decommissioning Trident is both possible and desirable” and that the “current jobs linked with Trident are limited and can and should be replaced through a growing renewables sector.”
The report also found that well-paid and highly skilled green jobs could be created for a fraction of the cost required to replace Trident.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) estimates that the cost of Trident renewal is in the region of £205 billion, and will only safeguard 11,500 jobs, making them some of the most expensive jobs in the world.
Ms Scott Cato said the report disproves claims that Trident helps to sustain thousands of high-quality jobs.She said: “For far less public money, we could invest in socially productive employment to replace Trident-related jobs.”
Ms Scott Cato called on MPs to “see sense” and “reject the government’s plans to waste billions of pounds of public money on a weapons system that could never be used without creating an unimaginable humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.”
Protests against the Tories’ plans to replace Trident began on Friday in Manchester where activists braved the rain to release banners over busy roads.Action will continue over the weekend with protests planned in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol and Nottingham.
On Monday, representatives from CND will hand in over 40,000 signatures collected for a Stop Trident petition to the Ministry of Defence at 12 noon the same day, while a rally will take place outside parliament from 6pm as MPs debate Trident inside.
CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity to break with this massively expensive yet redundant old technology and instead spend Britain’s valuable resources on meeting the security challenges we face today, like terrorism and climate change.”
The report, commissioned by Green MEP Molly Scott Cato, looked into alternative jobs for the 2,000 workers currently employed at the refitting base for Trident submarines in Plymouth.
The report found “decommissioning Trident is both possible and desirable” and that the “current jobs linked with Trident are limited and can and should be replaced through a growing renewables sector.”
The report also found that well-paid and highly skilled green jobs could be created for a fraction of the cost required to replace Trident.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) estimates that the cost of Trident renewal is in the region of £205 billion, and will only safeguard 11,500 jobs, making them some of the most expensive jobs in the world.
Ms Scott Cato said the report disproves claims that Trident helps to sustain thousands of high-quality jobs.She said: “For far less public money, we could invest in socially productive employment to replace Trident-related jobs.”
Ms Scott Cato called on MPs to “see sense” and “reject the government’s plans to waste billions of pounds of public money on a weapons system that could never be used without creating an unimaginable humanitarian and environmental catastrophe.”
Protests against the Tories’ plans to replace Trident began on Friday in Manchester where activists braved the rain to release banners over busy roads.Action will continue over the weekend with protests planned in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol and Nottingham.
On Monday, representatives from CND will hand in over 40,000 signatures collected for a Stop Trident petition to the Ministry of Defence at 12 noon the same day, while a rally will take place outside parliament from 6pm as MPs debate Trident inside.
CND general secretary Kate Hudson said: “This is a once in a generation opportunity to break with this massively expensive yet redundant old technology and instead spend Britain’s valuable resources on meeting the security challenges we face today, like terrorism and climate change.”
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