Workers at BiFab have taken part in a demonstration in Edinburgh urging the Scottish Government to help secure the future of the engineering firm.

Up to 1,400 jobs are at risk in Fife and Lewis as the company faces administration due a dispute over payments with Dutch-owned contractor Seaway Heavy Lifting.

Workers have agreed to continue working on their current order despite no guarantees that they will be paid.

Hundreds of BiFab employees and their families took part in the rally today, 16 November.


GMB Scotland Secretary Gary Smith said: "This work and this contract will be completed in Scotland if everyone pulls together - there is a way forward here.

"But the spotlight now needs to be put firmly on SSE which controls the billion pound Beatrice contract, the Dutch contractor SHL at the root of the payments dispute and also the UK Government who have £21 million of taxpayers' money underwriting this.

"It's time for everyone to stand up and be counted. Letting these workers and their communities go under is not an option."

Patrick Harvie MSP, Co-convener of the Scottish Greens, said: "If we're to make progress towards a zero-carbon Scotland, we must do more to support offshore wind energy.

"BiFab is a company at the forefront of this transition, and the workforce need to know that the Government has an industrial strategy that commits to support their jobs."

(LM/CD)