UK Government Solid Support Vessel Contract Competition
UK Government Solid Support Vessel Contract Competition
Following the UK Government’s launch of its competition for the manufacture of three solid support ships, GMB Scotland has warned Defence Secretary Ben Wallace MP to “learn the lessons” of lost manufacturing contracts to the rest of the world, and ensure the vessels are built in yards across Britain.
Speaking ahead of the Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons this afternoon (Monday 24 May), GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said:
“The award of the solid support vessel contracts to a consortium of UK manufacturers is the key to transforming our shipbuilding industry, and the working-class communities that depend on it.
“But it’s not enough for the Minister to say that a significant proportion of the build and assembly work should be carried out in the UK. That leaves the door open for the export of jobs to the rest of the world and would be incompatible with a levelling-up agenda.
“The Government must learn the lessons from the previous award of Royal Navy tankers to South Korea, and in offshore wind manufacturing, where we have outsourced billion-pound contracts and tens of thousands of jobs to Asia and Europe.
“For places like Fife and Devon, Clydeside and Merseyside, the solid support ships mean jobs, apprenticeships and prosperity – a huge redistribution of wealth on which we could help build an industrial and economic recovery.”
ENDS
Contact: GMB Scotland Communications on 07976 447077.
