Democratic Unionist chief Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’Neill have been urged to set aside their differences and travel to the US together to lobby for jobs at Bombardier’s Northern Ireland factory.
Uncertainty hangs over jobs at the aircraft manufacturer’s Belfast site amid a trade dispute between Bombardier and rival Boeing.
In September, the US Department of Commence announced its intentions to impose trade tariffs of 220 per cent on Canadian-based Bombardier’s C Series jets, after Boeing claimed the firm had received excessive government support which gave an unfair business advantage.
In October, a further 80 per cent tariff was proposed, raising concerns that job cuts could follow at the Belfast site.
In an evidence session of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster, representatives from trade union Unite, which represents many Bombardier staff, told MPs that, despite Stormont’s powersharing crisis, Ms Foster and Ms O’Neill should travel to Washington to lobby on behalf of workers.
George Burnside, a senior lay representative for the union, told MPs: “We feel let down that none of the representatives from the DUP or Sinn Fein have gone to Washington.
“The main parties should be in Washington, on Capitol Hill, rapping doors.”
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