GMB call for shipbuilding future

24 January 2012

GMB CALL ON UK GOVERNMENT TO ASSIST UK SHIPBUILDING INDUSTRY TO USE THREE YEAR BREATHING SPACE TO SECURE NEW WORK FOR THE INDUSTRY

There are opportunities and the UK is very well placed because we have a reputation that is second to none, with a highly skilled and motivated workforce says GMB

GMB commented on media speculation regarding the future of BAe shipyards when work on the aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy is completed later this decade.

Keith Hazlewood GMB National Secretary said “Given that there are at least three years before the steel work on the carriers is finished that is enough time to find work to keep these highly skilled workers busy for the benefit of the UK as a whole.

The Appledore shipyard in Devon, for example, is working on fishery protection vessels for the Irish State. With proper support for “the makers” by the UK Government there is no reason why this cannot be built upon.

There should also be scope for steel fabrication workers and these yards to be put to work on the massive programme underway to construct the Round 3 new generation of steel windmills to be installed around the coast an on land in the UK. Since the Crown Estates is involved these is no reason why the UK Government should not specify steel fabrication must be sourced from these yards.

When orders for the windmills are placed investment will be needed for the construction of the necessary facilities. There was media speculation over the weekend on this including proposed facilities for Vestas in Sheerness and Siemens in Hull. “

Gary Cook Regional Officer covering the Portsmouth yard said “GMB is aware that consultants have been hired to study all aspects of the company's shipbuilding business.

There are three years of steelwork on the aircraft carriers to do at Portsmouth plus further years of work on outfitting theses ships.

The prospect of winning orders to build merchant ships in UK yards is not great because of subsidies paid to yards in other countries, particularly the Far East. This is something that should be dealt with.

BAE is looking for naval work from other nations. There are opportunities and the UK is very well placed because we have a reputation that is second to none, with a highly skilled and motivated workforce. This must be made to count for something.”

Jim Moohan, GMB Regional Officer and chairman of the Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in Scotland said: “We must capitalise on the present work programme which for the first time in 40 years has UK shipyards working in partnership to be a cost effective industry.

The present carrier project is not only boosting the Shipbuilding profile, but is also having a positive knock-on effect to the manufacturing sector.

We must use our expertise to exploit this positive image to gain export work not only within the naval sphere, but also within commercial shipbuilding within the world market and for this we need a level playing field.

We have failed miserably in the past number of years to explore this market.

The UK Government, with all the political parties on-board and using the present partnership we have in place with the companies, must seek to expand our visions and thoughts in securing work from overseas.

With less than 10,000 highly skilled workers within the shipbuilding industry any further loss of commitment to support the yards will result in the total collapse of all UK shipbuilding and the loss of a very highly skilled and motivated workforce.

Investment over the last few years has created a fantastic opportunity for UK shipbuilding to be recognised as it was a number of years ago highly respected for quality, efficiency, and cost effectiveness.”

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to Central Lobby. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the Central Lobby service.

As such, Central Lobby does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.