GMB and Unite Scotland Media Statement

GMB and Unite Scotland Media Statement

Unions Call Out ‘Paltry’ Prospect Of Just 200 NnG Jobs For Fife

Responding to this morning’s reports (Wednesday 24 July) that the BiFab yards in Fife is set be awarded a contract for eight turbine jackets from the Neart Na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind project, Joint Trade Union Secretaries Gary Smith and Pat Rafferty said:

“It would be a paltry return for Scottish renewables manufacturing. The prospect of just eight turbine jackets coming to Fife while the vast majority are built in Indonesia is scandalous.

“This is a £2 billion Scottish offshore wind project that will be largely delivered by cheap foreign labour and then shipped on diesel burning barges to the Fife coast. The renewables lobby and every politician that has promised a green jobs revolution must be cringing.

“The contract is a very small crumb of comfort to the local communities in Methil and Burntisland. It will create some desperately needed jobs for a period of time but nowhere near maximum capacity and it poses more questions than answers.

“As a minimum we need to know if the further investment needed to modernise the yards will be brought forward, what the prospects are for securing major contracts on future offshore wind projects like Seagreen, and what are DF Barnes’ long-term plans for the business.

“Again the absence of any proper industrial planning has been exposed and the price of this political failure as always is paid by our working-class communities. Without serious investment from both the Scottish and UK Governments now, the prospect of a green jobs boom lies in tatters.”

ENDS

Contact: Peter Welsh, GMB Scotland Communications, on 07986 447077, and Andrew Brady, Unite Scotland Communications, on 07810 157922

Notes to Editors:
“Exclusive: New BiFab deal for NnG project set to create 200 jobs”, Wednesday 24 July 2019, https://www.energyvoice.com/otherenergy/204219/exclusive-new-bifab-deal-for-nng-project-set-to-create-200-jobs/