That this House recognises the achievement of the Lucas Aerospace workers in Burnley and management in converting from the manufacture of MLRS rocket cases to gas bottles for compressed natural gas as an alternative environmentally friendly fuel for road vehicles; regrets that Ford Motors in the USA have failed to give sufficient orders for this product resulting in Lucas Varity deciding to cease production of gas bottles and make 70 workers redundant in July; and hopes that Enterprise PLC, Burnley Borough Council, the Lucas Varity Group and unions working with the Government will enable a solution to be achieved resulting in increased orders for gas bottles, the cancellation of the redundancies and the use of more environmentally friendly fuels for road vehicles including compressed natural gas.

That this House recognises the achievement of the Lucas Aerospace workers in Burnley and management in converting from the manufacture of MLRS rocket cases to gas bottles for compressed natural gas as an alternative environmentally friendly fuel for road vehicles; regrets that Ford Motors in the USA have failed to...

That this House is bewildered to learn that Lucas Industries has abandoned its half century tradition of presenting a Christmas bonus to its pensioners; notes that the company has in the past year, due to the efforts of its workforce and management, increased its operating profit by 48 per cent. to ??125 million and that its direct exports from the United Kingdom are up by 18 per cent. and that sales per employee have increased by no less than 24 per cent. in the past two years; cannot understand why the company claims that this harsh decision, which saves less than ??1 million, towards its former loyal employees shows in the words of its spokesperson 'it was felt we needed to move with the times'; recalls that the Company raided the pension fund of ??90 million in 1992 and has not contributed to the fund for eight years; believes this shows that this great engineering company, formed with the sweat and toil of its workers and founders in the heart of inner Birmingham, and now a world class player in manufacturing, is headed by a management that has divested itself of the values and traditions of the company's founder; and believes they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves as they collect their fashionable executive share options and other perks while on their three year contracts.

That this House is bewildered to learn that Lucas Industries has abandoned its half century tradition of presenting a Christmas bonus to its pensioners; notes that the company has in the past year, due to the efforts of its workforce and management, increased its operating profit by 48 per cent....