Unions call for Fife BiFab yards to get windfarm contract

Trade unions are calling on work on a new windfarm off the Fife coast to be given to BiFab yards in the Kingdom.

The workers’ organisations are looking to save the yards, in Methil and Burntisland, which are in danger of losing out on EDF’s £2bn project, which will see turbines installed in the Firth of Forth just a few miles from Methil.

It is understood that EDF could have the turbine jackets for the Neart naGoaithe wind farm made in Indonesia then shipped over.

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GMB says that mssing out on manufacturing jobs for a wind farm that will be based just ten miles from the coast of Fife would be absolutely soul destroying for workers, while Unite has called on EDF to “do what’s right for Fife”.

Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish Secretary said: “The BiFab yards in Fife are ready and primed to get back to work. The NnG project could create jobs for over 1,000 people, unlocking much needed investment and growth for our future. If the bulk of the wind turbine jackets are built in yards just ten miles from the wind farm, it would mean less shipping and significantly less carbon emissions over the lifespan of the NnG project. We will fight for every job and fight to get people back to work because the skills base is here in Fife. EDF must think again and do what’s right for Fife, for Scotland and for the environment.”

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Tim Roache, GMB General Secretary, said: “This is an acute example of a large scale problem across the whole UK that has been ignored by politicians. Companies have profited while communities have struggled as climate change hits the headlines.

“We can have a thriving renewables sector – investing in our manufacturing infrastructure, developing new opportunities, skills and training in the supply chain - but it needs our politicians to sharpen their elbows in the fight for jobs.

“The government wants 60 per cent of the offshore wind sector to be delivered in the UK supply chain by 2030 but that’s pie in the sky politics if billion pound contracts like NnG are being manufactured and shipped from half way around the world to power our homes.

“The prospect of missing out on manufacturing jobs for a wind farm that will be based just ten miles from the coast of Fife would be absolutely soul destroying for the workers and communities who are ready for renewal.

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“EDF could take a real stand and do the right thing, make good on their ‘Better Plan’, show they value local workers and communities, and kick start an industry that would benefit people, the economy and the planet.”

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