March on Holyrood to save Fife and Lewis yard jobs
HUNDREDS of workers at the struggling engineering firm BiFab marched on the Scottish Parliament as part of the battle to save their jobs.
BiFab workers march through Edinburgh to save jobs
The employees marched through Edinburgh as Nicola Sturgeon announced she was returning home early from a UN climate change conference to be available for talks on the future of the crisis-hit yards.
BiFab, or Burntisland Fabrications Ltd, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators as it faces a critical cash position linked to ongoing contracts.
The company, which makes equipment for the oil and gas industry and the renewable energy sector, has 1,400 employees, contractors and subcontractors at its yards in Burntisland and Methil in Fife and Arnish on Lewis.
Unions want Scottish and UK ministers to help resolve a dispute involving BiFab and the Dutch-owned contractor Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL).
Hundreds of workers at the struggling engineering firm BiFab marched on the Scottish Parliament
The employees marched through Edinburgh
BiFab has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators
The jobs at these yards in Methil, Burntisland and Lewis are our jobs
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty told the rally: “Today we say to this parliament before us: The jobs at these yards in Methil, Burntisland and Lewis are our jobs – Scottish jobs – and we will fight tooth and nail to protect them.”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney told MSPs: “This is
a private contractual dispute among players within the consortium involved, and the Scottish Government is talking to every party involved.”