UNIONS have accused the Tory government of "total betrayal" as it emerged there could be up to 800 redundancies from the shipyards in Scotstoun and Govan.

Representatives of the joint trade unions from the yards were told by BAE Systems on Friday morning that a "worst-case scenario" of hundreds of lost jobs could result if the UK government pulls back from its commitment to manufacture eight type-26 frigates on the Clyde.

GMB Scotland said the cuts would lead to outsourcing up to 20 per cent of work from the upper Clyde to yards in England.

The union said they were determined to fight any compulsory redundancies.
Hundreds of jobs have already been lost on the Clyde in the past year and a half as shipbuilding capacity slowed.

The frigate contract, originally for 13 vessels, has already been delayed until the end of 2017.

The secretary of GMB Scotland, Gary Smith, said: "This would be a total betrayal of the upper Clyde workforce by a desperate Tory government trying to shift the goal posts in the face of their failing economic stewardship.

"We’ve gone from the Upper Clyde workforce being promised the manufacture of 13 Type-26 frigates in 2014, only for that to be cut to 8 frigates last year.

"We’ve gone from the promise of a world-class ‘frigate factory’ on the Scotstoun site, only to be told the plans were shelved.

"We’ve gone from promised investment that would secure thousands of skilled jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships for a generation, only to be told to prepare for redundancies.

"In the same week that Scottish unemployment increased by 20,000, the prospect of significant job losses at Govan and Scotstoun doesn’t even bear thinking about - it could tip our economy over the edge.

"GMB Scotland rejects this typically ruinous Tory agenda and we will resist any redundancies or withdrawal of work on the upper Clyde by using every tool we have at our disposal."

Dave Hulse, national officer with the GMB, added: "We are extremely disappointed with some of the potential proposals and will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Secretary of State to discuss our concerns.

"We will be calling on all political powers to support our fight. We will not accept any compulsory redundancies and demand and expect the MOD and BAE Systems to honour the agreement reached in November 2013 that was to bring world-class facilities to the Clyde to build the Type-26 frigates.

"The government and BAE Systems have misled the loyal and dedicated workforce and we will not stand by and let them destroy our valued shipbuilding industry."

Work had been set to begin on the new frigates in 2016, leading to a state-of-the-art frigate factory between the two yards.

The contract for the ships launched in February 2015, having been delayed until after the independence referendum. 

A national shipbuilding strategy is expected from the government later this year.

BAE Systems said they were working with the government for a new timetable for the ships.

A spokesperson for BAE systems said: “Following the strategic defence and security review, we are working with the Ministry of Defence to agree a revised baseline for the type-26 ships and a production schedule for the two additional offshore patrol vessels in Glasgow. We are engaging our trades unions as we work through this process. Our focus is to deliver the capability the Royal Navy needs, while ensuring the best value for UK taxpayers.”

The shadow defence secretary, Emily Thornberry, said the government should honour its commitments to Glasgow workers. 

She told the Guardian: “This would be a hammer blow to the British shipbuilding industry, one that cannot be allowed, so I have immediately written to [defence secretary] Michael Fallon demanding assurances that the Tories will honour the commitments they made to the people of Glasgow.

“It is essential that the type-26 project goes ahead as planned and that any decision to alter the substance or timetable of the government’s commitments is overturned immediately.

"If not, the workforce on the Clyde will rightly feel betrayed, angry and abandoned by the Tories, and the unions will have our full support in fighting these plans.”

SNP candidate for Glasgow Anniesland Bill Kidd said: "This is extremely worrying news - the UK government are playing fast and loose with people’s livelihoods in an industry that is now getting used to broken promises. 

"George Osborne already disgracefully betrayed a promise to these shipworkers, cutting the expected order of new frigates last year. Now even that order is so slow in arriving that jobs are being put in jeopardy.

"These workers deserve better than this. We are now in the ridiculous situation where Scotland – despite being a maritime nation – is without a single maritime patrol aircraft to defend our waters and without the proper conventional naval vessels. All the while Westminster presses on with renewing the immoral and completely useless nuclear arsenal only miles from Glasgow.

“As the cost of replacing Trident soars to £167 billion, it’s simply unacceptable for shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde to be sold down the river to pay for it.  It’s time for the UK Government to put their money where their mouth is and protect shipbuilding jobs on the Clyde – or we will see once and for all that their promises during the referendum were completely hollow."