Following the announcement today (Wednesday) by the Ministry of Defence for the building of the new Fleet Solid Support ships, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 

“The decision to award the FSS ships contract to Team Resolute will be warmly welcomed by Harland and Wolff workers in Belfast, Appledore, Arnish and Methil.

“Unite will now be ensuring that all aspects of the contract, including job commitments, apprenticeships and supply chain roles, are fully adhered to. There is a long and sorry history of UK workers losing out on government procurement work and broken promises once the ink is dry on contracts.

 “Today’s announcement leaves a vacuum for the rest of the UK’s shipyards and the government must address this at the earliest opportunity. It is imperative that the government introduces a clear pipeline of work for all the existing shipyards to maintain jobs and skills.”

ENDS

For media enquiries ONLY please contact Unite senior communications officer Barckley Sumner on 07802 329235 or 0203 371 2067.

Email: [email protected]

Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.