Switch of £1bn ships deal overseas would ‘betray’ Fife workers

The Conservative government has been accused by Fife politicians of betraying shipyard workers, including those at Rosyth.

The announcement that a £1 billion tender for Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships will go out to international tender was described as quite astounding by Douglas Chapman, the SNP’s defence procurement spokesperson.

The Dunfermline and West Fife member said: “This Tory government has simply stopped listening and is ignoring the value for the tax payer by having these ships built at the likes of Rosyth instead of yards in other parts of the world.

“We’re looking at around 6,000 dockyard jobs and a further 5,000 in the wider supply chain, and this against all the hollow promises and commitments made for years to keep work for MoD orders in the UK.”

Annabelle Ewing, SNP’s Cowdenbeath MSP, said: “This is yet another example of broken promises from the UK Government to shipyard workers in my constituency and throughout the country.

“I am confident in the skills of my constituents who work at Rosyth and their ability to compete for work on the basis of those abilities but when the MoD pits them unfairly against subsidised yards from overseas, the playing field is no longer a level one.”

Earlier this week, the GMB union said that keeping the work on UK soil could create or secure 6,700 jobs, including 1,800 shipyard jobs, and support a further 4,700 in the supply chain.

The Ministry of Defence is to put the order for Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ships out to tender at the end of this month.

Babcock International, which announced 400 job losses at Rosyth Dockyard last November and in March, was among a number of firms from the UK and abroad to attend an industry day in relation to the deal.

Government policy is that Royal Navy warships are built in the UK but orders for Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships can go overseas.