Welcome announcement

Caving in to pressure from all sides, including lobbying and campaigning from Unite, the UK government has finally announced today (November 4) that work on the long-awaited Type-26 frigates would begin next summer.

It quells months of doubts from Unite shipbuilders on the Clyde who feared that jobs would be at risk if the project did not go through.

Defence secretary Michael Fallon said that the new timetable would mean jobs would be safeguarded until 2035.

A contract for two new offshore patrol vessels will be signed shortly as well, Fallon noted, which will secure work for the shipbuilders until work on the frigates commences in 2017.

Although Fallon’s announcement was welcomed by unions and politicians including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, many expressed disappointment that the government had still not kept its full promises.

The number of planned frigates was scaled back from 13 to eight last year, after they were axed in the Strategic Defence Review.

Unite convenor for BAE Systems in Scoutston, Duncan McPhee, explained to UNITElive earlier this year that the protracted delays have already had a massive impact.

For example, while in typical years, the company would recruit 100 apprentices, last year they only took on 20 because of the continued uncertainty over the programme.

McPhee noted the more than 2,000 shipbuilders currently working at the two BAE sites on the Clyde, Scoutson and Gowan, were deployed under a restructuring plan laid out specifically to prepare for the manufacture of the Type 26.

The BAE workforce made major sacrifices under the restructuring – the shipyard in Portsmouth was shut for good and 1775 jobs were lost in England and Scotland.

“There were some painful decisions made during the restructuring and the position of the workforce is they don’t see why they should have to suffer any longer – they’ve lived up to their end of the bargain,” McPhee had said.

Fallon noted in his announcement this week that securing a start date for the Type 26 programme was “an important step toward securing billions of pounds of investment in shipbuilding on the Clyde, securing hundreds of high-skilled jobs for at least the next two decades and hundreds more in the supply chain across our country.”

Unite welcomed the long-awaited announcement.

“Unite and the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions worked hard with BAE and the UK Government to ensure that this contract came to the Clyde,” said Unite regional coordinating officer Kenny Jordan.

“We’re pleased that the Defence Secretary has finally committed to meeting the promises made to the workforce on the Clyde. Our members have been living with uncertainty for too long and this is a testament to the lobbying and campaigning that they have done over the last two years.

“We have a workforce at Govan and Scotstoun with world-class skills who are eager to get on with the job – and eager to see more work coming in the future,” Jordan added.

“This announcement secures the future of shipbuilding on the upper Clyde, supports skilled jobs in manufacturing and will provide opportunities for apprentices and trainees, making sure that we safeguard skills for the next generation.”