The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Call to keep Shetland windfarm jobs in UK

- By Francesca Washtell

MINISTERS have been urged to intervene to keep renewable energy jobs in the UK after a big contract for floating wind farms was given to a Middle East-based group.

Dubai-based Lamprell signed an early stage deal this month to fabricate 200 turbines for the farms, to be installed west of Shetland.

But the GMB union said the deal meant the Government’s Energy Security Strategy had ‘fallen at the first hurdle’ as UK workers missed out on jobs on the multi-billion pound project. Gary Smith, GMB general secretary, said: ‘It’s a national scandal that UK workers and communitie­s are being forced to watch as multi-billion pound contracts for offshore wind farms are sent overseas to companies in authoritar­ian regimes.’ The union has written to politician­s in Westminste­r and Holyrood calling for a joint review. It wants emergency legislatio­n to stop work going abroad.

Lamprell is listed in London but much of its work is focused in the Middle East.

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