Published: Thursday, 2nd July, 2009 8:55am

Calm response to latest Rosyth carrier contract fears

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WORK is carrying on as normal on the aircraft carriers contract at Rosyth Dockyard amid renewed speculation over the future of the project.

The trigger for this latest bout of conjecture was a leaked document revealing that the programme is already £1 billion over budget before work starts in earnest at the Clydeside yards, where much of the building will take place.

Rosyth is also playing a key construction and assembly role in the UK"s biggest ever marine defence project, which should see the two massive ships entering service by 2018. Coming at a time of increasing pressure on public expenditure, the huge sums involved have long made the carriers a possible target for cost-cutting.

An influential think-tank reported this week that the UK should slash its defence budget by £24 billion while the head of the army has described the carriers as 'Cold War relics'.

After years of rumours, the Rosyth workers were not overly concerned about the latest stories with the feeling that it was a ploy by contractors to put pressure on the Government by raising the prospect of job cuts.

When the Government announced last year that the project was going to be phased over a longer period – 'one or two years' later – than previously planned, that in itself put up costs significantly.

Raymond Duguid, secretary of the dockyard joint trade unions, said, 'We"re quite relaxed about the situation. Over the years, we"ve got used to it and it seems that this is the way BAE Systems (owner of the Clyde yards) does business by leaking things.

'Carriers work has been going on with us since December and we"ll just continue doing the work until we"re told otherwise.

'The defence minister, Quentin Davies, was on television the other night saying the project was definitely going ahead so that"s good enough for us.'

John Park, MSP and former dockyard trade union official, said, 'I have to seriously challenge why this information was leaked by the private sector companies to the media.

'The MoD changed the terms of the contract last year and established a later in-service date meaning the ships will employ a higher number of workers over a longer period of time, which will be good for the economy around the Forth and Clyde yards.

'Preparations are ongoing as normal and I have been invited to a steel cutting ceremony on the Clyde next week.

'If there is any suggestion that Babcock or BVT are ready to cut jobs to boost their profit margin on these projects, they better get ready to face a lot of anger right across Scotland.'

Jim Moohan, Scotland senior organiser for the GMB union, challenged the Government to 'come out with a firm statement of commitment and guarantees that the programme will continue in its present form'.

He added, 'It must be very obvious to those in authority that during the present recession this is one ray of light not only within the shipbuilding sector within the UK but also within the manufacturing sector, which will pick up from the offshoots from the carrier project.'

Dunfermline and West Fife MP Willie Rennie said, 'This contract has been a shambles from the start with endless delays followed by endless delays. It"s little surprise that the costs have gone up as constant chopping and changing costs.

'The workforce has been let down again. I will be demanding reassurance from the Labour Government that they will build these carriers without any more delay.'

Bernie Hamilton, shipbuilding and aerospace national officer for the Unite union, was unimpressed by Mr Rennie"s intervention.

'When will this individual ever realise that the "leak" is designed to do one thing and one thing only – namely to force the Government to agree to the increase in costs wanted by the employers (the Carrier Alliance) for the extension to the in-service dates.

'All of us involved in the industry knew that when it was agreed to extend the build programme to align the carrier in-service dates with the Joint Strike Fighter delivery and a better payment schedule for UK Government that this would come at a cost.

'Predictably, employers know only one way to force a Labour Government into meeting their demands on costs and not what is in the taxpayers" interest. That is to publicly threaten hard-working families with their future employment aided and abetted by media-hungry opposition MPs who look for any issue to make themselves look relevant to the electorate.'

Rosyth councillor Douglas Chapman, of the SNP, said, 'The news that Labour has overspent on the carriers contract to the tune of £1 billion before one piece of steel has been cut is very worrying indeed.

'Given the economic climate created by Gordon Brown, there is not a pot of money for the British Government to call on so something needs to give and that"s why this news will raise many concerns for the Rosyth workforce.'