THE award of a contract for eight turbine jackets to the BiFab yards in Fife would represent a “paltry return for Scottish renewables manufacturing”, say union bosses.
It has been suggested the contract will be awarded from the Neart Na Gaoithe offshore wind project.
However, in a joint statement by GMB Scotland secretary Gary Smith and Unite Scotland secretary Pat Rafferty, they said the potential offer to build just eight of the project’s 53 jacket foundations was “scandalous”.
They said: “The prospect of just eight turbine jackets coming to Fife while the vast majority are built in Indonesia is scandalous. This is a £2 billion Scottish offshore wind project that will be largely delivered by cheap foreign labour and then shipped on diesel-burning barges to the Fife coast.
“The renewables lobby and every politician that has promised a green jobs revolution must be cringing.”
BiFab mothballed two plants in Fife at Methil and Burntisland, as well as a further facility at Arnish.
It was hoped that jobs could be saved after DF Barnes took over the company in April last year, but BiFab experienced cashflow problems in November.
A spokesman for DF Barnes said: “We are working flat out secure additional work for our yards in Fife.
“We believe discussions are heading in the right direction. Although we are surprised to learn of media reports at this important stage in the process, we are cautiously optimistic of success”.
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