GMB Scotland Welcome Defence Review To Secure Clydeside Shipyards And Say Scottish Government Spin Is Totally Wrong
The commitment in the SDSR to multilateralism and to the successor programme going ahead is welcome as it is crucial to jobs says GMB Scotland.
GMB Scotland and other unions representing shipbuilding on Clydeside welcome the news in the SDSR on the order for the Type 26 Combat Vessel. This once again secures the position of employment going forward and supports investment done by BAE Systems over the past decade which has resulted in continuity of a Work Programme on various classes of ships from the Carrier Project through now to the Type 26 Combat Vessel.
The initial position of 13 ships has now been reduced to 8 with the add-on of the total financial package allowing the Company to invest in other types of vessels.
Jim Moohan, GMB Scotland Senior Organiser and Chair of the Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions said: “Once again this is great news for Clydeside, which has been rewarded for its continuing quality of work produced by the skills and experience heavily invested in by BAE Systems.”
Alongside the capital to improve the infrastructure it creates great opportunities for the next few decades for the Company with the support of the UK Government to explore the export market as we are now in a position to compliment the skills by achieving overseas work. This would in effect fill any possible gaps which may well arise in the long term.”
The Scottish Government have totally missed and understood the background to the type of work that Clydeside have done for a number of decades now. Instead of the peaks and troughs which caused redundancies in the past we now have continuity. This should be welcomed and not used for Political mischief by those who have no knowledge in this area of industry and whose vision going forward was a dated Type 42 Destroyer to be the sole protection for Scottish waters in the event that the Referendum question had answered yes.
The employee levels in Clydeside at the present are 2,500 and these will be sustained with the possibility of an increase.
GMB and the other unions have arranged to meet BAE Systems in Glasgow on Thursday 3rd December to discuss the outcome of the SDSR for the shipyards.
Our congratulations to the workforce once again for ensuring the profile that shipbuilding UK is strong and stable going forward.”
Gary Smith, Acting Secretary GMB Scotland, added “GMB Scotland welcome the commitment in SDSR to multilateralism and the successor programme going ahead as it is crucial to jobs.
Tomorrow’s debate in the UK Parliament on Trident successor programme is nothing more than a sideshow given today’s announcements. The Scottish political establishment is indulging themselves around Trident whilst ignoring that the successor programme will benefit Rosyth.
The Tories have never done Scotland any favours when it comes to jobs and industry and we fear the Scottish political establishment are presenting George Osborne with an excuse to take work away from Scotland. It was a Tory government that privatised Rosyth and another that all but shut it down forever.
The task for us in Scotland is to fight to ensure that there is a proper pipeline of work in all the shipyards. We need to look at the detail but the carriers will need escort ships and it essential that we hold the government in London to account and get the ships the navy needs built in Scotland and at other UK yards like Appledore. In a time of huge uncertainty across the globe and with further defence reviews no doubt taking place in the years ahead, there is everything to play for in terms of creating huge job opportunities in Scotland.”
Posted: 23rd November 2015