A THREAT of compulsory redundancies and possible retaliatory strike action at Rolls-Royce's two aerospace factories in Barnoldswick has been lifted.

A bulging order book and a good response to the company's voluntary redundancy scheme have helped lift the threat of compulsory job losses, after long and determined negotiating by union officials. At least 20 jobs have been saved.

Early this year, Rolls-Royce announced a programme of planned redundancies at its factories throughout the UK, looking to cut 152 jobs in Barnoldswick.

That brought an indignant response from workers and their unions, who seriously questioned the need for redundancies at a time when Rolls-Royce had a record £13.2 billion order book.

Their call for answers were backed by Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, who met with Rolls-Royce chief executive John Rose and other senior managers. The company acknowledged its healthy financial position, but said efficiency savings were still needed to maintain its future competitiveness in the world market.

Meanwhile, union officials continued in negotiations at Barnoldswick, with the prospect of balloting members on strike action if the company tried to impose compulsory redundancies.

The situation eased slightly when the job cut target was reduced by about a dozen. With around 120 people already having taken voluntary redundancy, that left around 20 jobs still to go.

But now John Boardman, the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union's site convenor at Barnoldswick, has been told there will be no need for compulsory redundancies at Barnoldswick this year or next year.

He and other union officials were informed by senior managers that the need for redundancies had been dissipated by further additions to the company's multi-billion pound order book for Trent engines. Key components for those engines, including the wide chord fan blades, are manufactured in Barnoldswick - recognised as a centre of excellence in fan blade production.

"Because of a combination of people leaving voluntarily and also because of the workload increasing, they need people here," said Mr Boardman. "Also, based on the workload as it is now, they said there would be no further manpower losses next year."

He added: "The threat of industrial action has been lifted now that compulsory redundancies aren't going to happen. We very much welcome this move.."

Rolls-Royce's move away from redundancies comes in the wake of an exceptional few weeks for the company. At the Farnborough International Airshow in July, it generated business worth over 1.6 billion US dollars. The company also issued forecasts showing a potential value of $200 billion for its high-thrust Trent engines over the next 20 years.

Since then, the aerospace giant has announced orders worth $200 million from American Airlines and its regional division, American Eagle. Most recently, Rolls-Royce announced new business worth $160 million from Cathay Pacific.

That order brings the total value of business announced by Rolls-Royce this year alone to more than $8.5 billion.