PRESS ASSOCIATION -- Thousands of people will join a demonstration in support of the UK's last train manufacturer as a new opinion poll called for a rethink on a lucrative contract to build new rolling stock.
German firm Siemens was awarded the £1.4 billion contract to build carriages for the Thameslink route between Bedford and Brighton, ahead of Derby-based Bombardier, which has since announced plans to cut 1,400 jobs.
Union leaders, MPs and local politicians will address a rally in Derby following a march through the city.
A poll of more than 25,000 adults for the Unite union showed that 88% wanted the Government to reconsider its decision and 95% believed the coalition should actively support manufacturing jobs in this country.
Unite's assistant general secretary Diana Holland said: "This is a wake-up call for the Government. It's time to face facts and admit excluding Bombardier from the Thameslink contract is disastrous.
"More than 1,400 people will lose their jobs and Bombardier's future is at risk. There is still time for a rethink to save Britain's last train maker and repair this colossal error of judgment."
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union claimed that more than 500 train maintenance and cleaning jobs in London and the South East are now under threat as a result of the Government awarding the contract to Siemens. The union said that as well as train manufacture, the contract covered train maintenance.
General secretary Bob Crow said: "This new information shows that the jobs threat from the Thameslink stitch-up has spread from Derby to London and the South East and clearly none of this was factored into the Government award of the contract.
"This is further grounds for the original botched decision to be reversed as it would add millions in terms of lost tax revenues and increased benefit payments to the UK taxpayers' bill for this EU-inspired scandal - making a mockery of Government claims that this deal represents good value.
"Trade unionists and supporters from all over the country will be in Derby today supporting the Bombardier workforce in their fight to defend train building in the UK. This battle is well and truly on and this latest evidence, dragged out of the Government by the RMT parliamentary group, fuels our demand for this contract to be pulled back before it is signed off."