Union Responds to Scottish Government Statement on Ferguson Marine

Union Responds to Scottish Government Statement on Ferguson Marine

GMB Scotland has accused the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Economy & Fair Work, Fiona Hyslop MSP, of “turning her back” on Ferguson Marine workers after she confirmed this afternoon that there will be no designated workforce representative on the board of the Port Glasgow shipbuilder.

Reacting to the Cabinet Secretary’s statement to the Scottish Parliament this afternoon (Tuesday 25 August), GMB Scotland Organiser Gary Cook said:

“Fiona Hyslop has taken the one consistently supportive stakeholder that the Scottish Government had, the workforce, and turned her back on them. Her preferred workforce representation structures have not been negotiated with the joint unions, who supported the Scottish Government in saving the yard.

“The government has imposed a cut on the level of workforce participation concerning the decisions affecting their yard and livelihoods. We’ve gone from having a workers’ representative on the project board to the Cabinet Secretary creating a ‘workforce liaison committee’ which can make representations to the new board.

“There is nothing progressive about this whatsoever, it makes a mockery of the Scottish Government’s own fair work policies and dilutes the effectiveness of the workers’ voice.”

ENDS

Contact: GMB Scotland Organiser and Scottish Chair of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) Gary Cook, on 07712 677594.