WORKERS from the tobacco industry in the region will today present a report to the TUC, claiming that thousands of jobs are at risk from new EU legislation.

The will join colleagues from across the country at the TUC conference in Glasgow in a bid to highlight what they see as "discrimination " against their industry by the EU.

The workers from the Darlington Rothmans factory, now owned by British American Tobacco (BAT), will join their colleagues from Southampton in seeking the support of their union colleagues, before flying off to Brussels to lobby MEPs and members of the European Commission.

Their concerns relate to an EU proposal to ban the marketing and manufacture of cigarettes above 10mg tar, and the use of descriptions such as "lights".

The legislation even extends to products destined to export to markets where they would be perfectly legal.

John Bibby, senior steward at the engineers union, AEEU, at Darlington said the implications of the ban could be catastrophic.

"Either the Labour government completely misunderstands the true implications of this export ban or is happy to see our livelihoods and factories destroyed," he said.

"We want them to intervene to try and save our jobs."

The new report, published by management and unions at both BAT plants in Darlington and Southampton, puts the number of jobs at risk across the country as high as 8,000.

The study raises a number of issues with both the Government and the EU. It

lchallenges government claims that job losses as a result of the export ban would be negligible,

largues that the proposed ruling will do nothing to improve trade or health and will hand an overwhelming competitive advantage to overseas manufacturers; and

lquestions whether the EU should be seeking to legislate on behalf of countries outside its jurisdiction, handing a competitive advantage to overseas manufacturers and exporting valuable manufacturing employment

General manager for the UK and Ireland operations of BAT, Peter Taylor, re-iterated what the company see a genuine threat to the future of its cigarette manufacturing in this country.

"The EU manufacturing restrictions pose the single most significant threat to the future of our plants in Darlington and Southampton, and all for no benefit.

"Production of these cigarettes - accounting for 85 per cent of our manufacturing volume - could be forced overseas.

"The same products would be bought by the same consumers, but they would be made by factories outside the EU with the capacity to meet the same demand."

Union leaders at Darlington say the measures would affect 70 per cent of the output of the factory which currently employs 540 staff.

In July The Northern Echo revealed that unions had written to every one of their suppliers in their region to highlight their campaign, and in a bid to get their support.

The new dangers to jobs comes just months after British American Tobacco (BAT), owners of Rothmans, announced they were closing their Spennymoor factory where 464 people were employed