Shipyard unions fight job cuts

A worker's reflection on the wet ground at Govan

Union leaders from the BAE Systems' two Clydeside shipyards have said they will fight against the loss of 1,000 jobs.

More than a third of the company's workforce is to be axed - despite work on six new Royal Navy destroyers being secured by the Govan and Scotstoun yards on Tuesday.

The government work is said to secure the long-term future of the yards but does not fill a short-term gap in the order books.

Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell said shipbuilding companies cannot rely solely on the government for work.

The BAE cuts could have a devastating effect

She said: "There is over-capacity in shipbuilding. We recognise that. Most countries in the world recognise that and the workforce recognise that.

"But companies cannot rely just on the Royal Navy to fill gaps in their order books."

She added: "The announcement by the secretary of state for defence shows the government was prepared to think laterally to bring orders forward to fill the workload of UK shipyards."

Workers at the Glasgow shipyards had been braced for some job losses, but they have been shocked by the scale of the cuts.

It is thought most will be manual jobs, but managerial and technical posts will also be cut with the Scotstoun yard being hardest hit.

Resolutely opposed

Union leaders have said they will fight to persuade the company to scale back the cuts.

They are expected to tell managers that they are "resolutely opposed" to any compulsory job losses.

The engineering union, the AEEU, is expected to accuse the company of laying off staff without any meaningful consultation and cutting too many jobs.

It has called a mass meeting of its workforce on Thursday to discuss the crisis and it wants the government to provide short-term work for the yards to stave off mass redundancies.

'Snowball effect'

Jamie Webster, Govan shipyard spokesman for the GMB Union, said: "When we set out to secure the long-term future of the Clyde two-and-a-half years ago, we did not think we would have to pay a price like this."

He said the company will struggle to persuade workers to take voluntary redundancies.

"There is no way they will get those numbers, especially in Govan. We have fought for two years. People in that yard want to work.

"Obviously I will be speaking to my colleagues in Scotstoun. There will be major problems getting voluntary redundancies. We do have a difficulty."

The proposed job losses are expected to have a devastating effect on communities around the yards.

Scotstoun local Garry Wood, who lost his job at the then Yarrows Shipyard 18 months ago, said the BAE cuts would touch the whole community.

When we set out to secure the long-term future of the Clyde two-and-a-half years ago, we did not think we would have to pay a price like this.

Union convener Jamie Webster

The 36-year-old said: "It is not just the jobs at the yard which are affected by this announcement but also businesses in the surrounding areas.

"The losses will have a snowball effect on everything else and especially on the businesses whose livelihood depends heavily on the yard."

Mr Wood, who is currently unemployed, also said that morale at the yard would suffer.

Joseph Murphy, manager at the Rendezvous Bar, the closest pub to the yard, said BAE should have started work on the naval vessels earlier than 2003.

He said: "That order should be brought forward because if they could secure work without losing jobs in the next two to three years, then they could get more work for the future in that time.

'Spare no effort'

"The company has got to start striking deals and get the guys back into work.

"Eventually there is going to be nothing left on the Clyde."

Scottish Enterprise Glasgow said it would work with BAE Systems and local employment agencies to find other work for redundant shipyard workers.

Chief executive Ron Culley said: "This will clearly be devastating news for the people of Govan and Scotstoun.

"Glasgow in general and these communities in particular are steeped in the traditions of shipbuilding."

He added: "We owe it to the workers who may be made redundant to help them continue in employment and we will spare no effort to achieve this."