Scottish Government accused of Bifab “betrayal”
The Scottish Government has been accused of betraying the Bifab workforce and local communities by Scottish Greens Energy Spokesperson, Fife MSP Mark Ruskell.
Speaking in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon, Mr Ruskell highlighted comments from then Economy Secretary Keith Brown in 2018 who said that, “Bifab has a bright future”. A joint statement issued by the SNP and Conservative governments last week said that the government would not, “provide further financial support to Bifab in its current form”.
Mark Ruskell MSP said:
“A blame game between Bifab’s owners and the Scottish Government won’t deliver jobs for Fife and Arnish. The Scottish Government must step up and become a majority shareholder in Bifab as soon as possible.
“Simply hunting around for another private company to pick up the reins at Bifab will not result in a recovery for the company, the Scottish Government owns the yards already, it should take the future of the workforce into its hands as well by becoming a majority shareholder able to make key decisions at board level.
“On the 17th April 2018, then Cabinet Secretary Keith Brown told this chamber “we are confident that Bifab has a bright future”, saying that the “agreement gives the workforce, the company and the Government the best possible chance of securing a vibrant future for the yards”.
“It is understandable then that the workforce and communities in Fife and Lewis feel bitterly let down by this most recent betrayal by the Scottish and UK Governments.
“Yesterday at her party conference the First Minister spoke of creating green jobs, but the SNP has failed to show how it will rebuild confidence in the sector.
“Ministers must act urgently to guarantee manufacturing jobs in Fife and Lewis for the long term. We have the skills, the expertise, the facilities and the people. As the GMB union has said all that’s missing is political will from the government.