Meeting of the Parliament 25 November 2015
As a lifelong trade unionist, I warmly welcome to the gallery this afternoon officials and members representing CalMac Ferries and beyond. I would ask all members to congratulate them on their outstanding campaign to fight for jobs and services for CalMac. [Applause.]
If anyone was in any doubt about the insidious Trade Union Bill, which is weaving its way through Westminster, I say to them, come to the Scottish Parliament today and see in action trade unionism at its best—dedicated men and women, steeped in their community, committed to retaining top-quality public sector jobs and services.
I want to thank the local and national media for their positive coverage of our campaigns, particularly the Daily Record, which has been four-square behind the crusade to keep CalMac and carry on.
A few years ago when I was on holiday in Skye and having lunch in a cafe in Portree, I found a story about Caledonian MacBrayne in a local community paper. CalMac, as it is usually known, is a publicly owned ferry company that has become an institution. It is wedded to the Scottish psyche and is as identifiable as Stornoway black pudding, Walker’s shortbread and Barr’s Irn Bru. The story in the community paper included a poem that local children had made up, which went as follows:
Unto the Lord belongs the earth
And all that it contains.
Except the Kyles and the Western Isles
For they are all MacBrayne’s.
CalMac was formed on new year’s day in 1973 when two companies, the Caledonian Steam Packet Company and David MacBrayne Ltd, whose histories go back two centuries, amalgamated.
Even the names of the CalMac fleet—Loch Seaforth, Finlaggan and Isle of Lewis, for example—evoke the rich tapestry of Scotland’s past. It is as if the vessels themselves project a personality and character of their own. They are a west coast extended family, which is part of the DNA of the Highlands and Islands.
However, the very survival of CalMac is at risk. CalMac is engaged in a head-to-head competition with Serco, the international facilities company, for the Scottish Government contract for ferry services on lifeline Clyde and Hebrides routes.
The loss of the contract would in effect mean the end of CalMac. Vessels would go to Serco, staff would go to Serco and routes would go to Serco. Without the Clyde and Hebrides routes, CalMac would disappear and there would be no public ferry service to challenge Serco in future. That would leave lifeline services, along with services to the northern isles, well and truly in private hands.