Union leaders’ delight as factory jobs saved
ALMOST 600 Rolls-Royce jobs near Glasgow have been safeguarded after an agreement was reached between the engineering giant and trade union officials.
The future of the Inchinnan plant, in Renfrewshire, was in doubt as the company struggled to cope with a downturn in business caused by the Covid pandemic.
However, the Unite trade union has now told the 575-strong workforce their jobs will be safe from compulsory redundancies for at least five years.
The signing of a memorandum of understandings (MoU) for the Rolls-Royce sites at Inchinnan and Ansty, near Coventry, comes just weeks after Unite struck a ground-breaking deal with management to secure the future of the company’s Barnoldswick operations, in Lancashire, saving an additional 350 jobs there.
As well as safeguarding jobs, the MoUs for Inchinnan and Ansty state that Unite and Rolls-Royce will work together to bring new work to the sites, including that related to addressing climate change and developing green technologies.
Around 1600 people were employed at the Inchinnan site, which produces turbine blades and aerofoils, before the pandemic struck but more than half of those jobs have been lost over the past year.
More than 85 people are employed at the Ansty plant, where engine fan cases are made.
Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary, said: “The agreements safeguarding more than 650 jobs in Inchinnan and Ansty are testament to the hard work of our members at both sites who, alongside our fantastic team of shop stewards and officers, were determined to secure a bright future for their workplaces and communities.
“Companies like Rolls-Royce have the potential to drive a jobs recovery as they produce the green tech needed to meet our zero carbon targets, while cementing the UK’s position as the envy of the manufacturing world.”
SCHOOL libraries in Glasgow have been given a financial boost to help them cope with the pandemic.
Twelve secondary schools across the city will share £13,770 dedicated to funding educational activities.
The grant was awarded to Glasgow Life for a project aiming to help students learning English as an additional language engage with their community.
It comes as part of the Scottish Government’s School Library Improvement Fund (SLIF), but this year grants are targeted at projects helping pupils during period of remotelearning.
John Swinney, Deputy First Minister, said: “This announcement is a reminder of the central role that school libraries can play in schools, and never more so than in current circumstances.
“The last year has brought to the fore the need for innovative approaches to supporting pupil engagement, digital literacy and health and wellbeing.”
Sighthill Community Campus, which was awarded £10,350, plans to ensure children have access to wellbeing resources.
The coronavirus restrictions have had a harsh impact on youths’ mental health.
Chief executive at Scottish Library and Information Council Pamela Tulloch said: “During the Covid-19 lockdown, school libraries have continued to support pupils and schools with the delivery of the curriculum.”
She added that “inspiring projects” like those awarded funding in Scotland “are needed now more than ever”.
MENTAL health champions have praised a Crookston hospital for its “impressive” care for patients during the pandemic.
Inspectors from the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland visited the Leverndale Hospital’s rehabilitation ward in December last year.
Despite functioning as a “Covid-19 red ward” in July and August, inspectors found that patient care continued “very much as normal” with access to services and psychiatrists continuing.
Alison Thomson, the body’s executive director for nursing, said: “We were impressed with the way in which this service has adapted and it is hoped the positive changes that have benefitted some aspects of patient care can be continued and developed in future models of care.”
Because of the pandemic, there were difficulties in discharging patients and some patients struggled with access to privacy because of the “unfavourable” layout of the building itself, the report noted.
But the ward’s programme of activities was held up as a highlight.
Patients had been encouraged to take part in a “lockdown wall” at the beginning of the pandemic and drew on it things which were meaningful and important to them.
Ms Thomson said: “The project is viewed with pride by everybody involved and seems to inspire hope.”
A SOUP kitchen is appealing for donations to buy kitchen utensils.
Due to an “increase in demand” for its services, Homeless Project Scotland – which runs the facility from underneath the Heilanman’s Umbrella – are in urgent need of new supplies.
To donate towards the cost of new equipment, visit localgiving.org/charity/homelessproject-scotland