Jobs for Peace

Trident, Britain’s nuclear weapons system, is not the jobs provider it is claimed to be by some. CND has calculated that just over 11,000 civilian jobs are directly dependent on Trident. Guaranteeing people’s livelihoods matters but the billions of pounds due to be spent on a new nuclear weapons system could be used far more effectively to create well-paid jobs that do not produce weapons of mass destruction.

CND has called for a Defence Diversification Agency to be established to ensure that in the event of Britain scrapping its nuclear weapons, the skills of the workers would be transferred to other industries, such as building conventional ships or producing renewable energy. A government-led economic diversification plan would minimise job losses.

The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic shows that is possible. To address the need for extra health supplies, a consortium of UK companies came together to produce medical ventilators. Several arms companies – including a number involved in nuclear weapons production – were members of the consortium and it is believed that staff who routinely work on defence contracts were redeployed to work on the ventilator project.

This development shows that it is possible to redeploy workers to more socially useful parts of the economy. When CND has previously called for Trident to be scrapped, this has been challenged on the grounds of the job losses this would entail. However, when necessary, defence companies were able to diversify and produce something different. There is no reason why this cannot be replicated on a wider scale, especially when the diversification is pre-planned and factored into the Ministry of Defence’s planning.

Instead of spending billions on deadly nuclear weapons, the British government should be using it to create sustainable, green jobs that can save the planet and boost the economy!