Chamber
Plenary, 15 Feb 2007
15 Feb 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Workers' Rights
I deplore Jackie Baillie's rather petty contribution to this morning's debate. It did not set the right tone, especially for the Simclar workers who are looking to the Parliament for leadership.
I congratulate Rosemary Byrne on securing the debate, at a time when the rights of a loyal workforce at Simclar Group plants in Ayrshire are being brutally trampled on. Thirty-odd years ago, Ted Heath coined the phrase "the unacceptable face of capitalism" to describe the behaviour of the Lonrho group and its boss, Tiny Rowland. That description applies equally well to Simclar boss Sam Russell—one of the richest men in Scotland, as Rosemary Byrne mentioned. Surely it is unacceptable in this day and age for any group of workers and fellow citizens to be treated with such disrespect and disregard by an employer.
Rosemary Byrne has outlined the callous way in which the plants were shut without forewarning. I assume that Irene Oldfather will say more about that later. People were barely able to retrieve their personal belongings, such was the suddenness of the owner's announcement and the deployment of security staff. The closure process had the smack of a paramilitary operation, with both factories being stripped of their machinery in the middle of the night. Presumably, it was transferred to Dunfermline, where the group is based. The ruthlessness of the action is beyond belief and must be condemned by the whole chamber, especially because 420 workers have been dumped on the scrapheap without so much as a penny from Mr Russell in the form of redundancy payment. As Allan Wilson mentioned, employment services have been left struggling to cope with the demands of the situation.
I have two questions for the minister, which I hope he will address when he sums up the debate. First, what is he doing to help to bring Mr Russell and the Simclar Group to book for their behaviour, which may be legal but is both politically and morally unacceptable? Secondly, what urgent action is he taking to fulfil his promise to pull out all the stops to support this betrayed workforce back into employment? At the moment, there is a great deal of confusion and despair among the workforce—people need to know what help they can expect and when they will get it.
The closure of Simclar Ayrshire has been a shameful episode in Scotland's industrial history. Although I recognise that the Parliament does not have the powers to ensure that that kind of employer behaviour does not continue to go unpunished—I welcome Chris Ballance's remarks on that issue—we have a duty to press those who have such powers to exercise them. I echo Phil Gallie's demands for any investigation by the DTI to leave no stone unturned in bringing Simclar and Sam Russell to book.
I congratulate Rosemary Byrne on securing the debate, at a time when the rights of a loyal workforce at Simclar Group plants in Ayrshire are being brutally trampled on. Thirty-odd years ago, Ted Heath coined the phrase "the unacceptable face of capitalism" to describe the behaviour of the Lonrho group and its boss, Tiny Rowland. That description applies equally well to Simclar boss Sam Russell—one of the richest men in Scotland, as Rosemary Byrne mentioned. Surely it is unacceptable in this day and age for any group of workers and fellow citizens to be treated with such disrespect and disregard by an employer.
Rosemary Byrne has outlined the callous way in which the plants were shut without forewarning. I assume that Irene Oldfather will say more about that later. People were barely able to retrieve their personal belongings, such was the suddenness of the owner's announcement and the deployment of security staff. The closure process had the smack of a paramilitary operation, with both factories being stripped of their machinery in the middle of the night. Presumably, it was transferred to Dunfermline, where the group is based. The ruthlessness of the action is beyond belief and must be condemned by the whole chamber, especially because 420 workers have been dumped on the scrapheap without so much as a penny from Mr Russell in the form of redundancy payment. As Allan Wilson mentioned, employment services have been left struggling to cope with the demands of the situation.
I have two questions for the minister, which I hope he will address when he sums up the debate. First, what is he doing to help to bring Mr Russell and the Simclar Group to book for their behaviour, which may be legal but is both politically and morally unacceptable? Secondly, what urgent action is he taking to fulfil his promise to pull out all the stops to support this betrayed workforce back into employment? At the moment, there is a great deal of confusion and despair among the workforce—people need to know what help they can expect and when they will get it.
The closure of Simclar Ayrshire has been a shameful episode in Scotland's industrial history. Although I recognise that the Parliament does not have the powers to ensure that that kind of employer behaviour does not continue to go unpunished—I welcome Chris Ballance's remarks on that issue—we have a duty to press those who have such powers to exercise them. I echo Phil Gallie's demands for any investigation by the DTI to leave no stone unturned in bringing Simclar and Sam Russell to book.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
Good morning. The first item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5581, in the name of Rosemary Byrne, on workers' rights.
Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (Sol):
Sol
This Solidarity debate is about improving workers' rights and strengthening trade unions throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom.The context for the debat...
Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab):
Lab
Will the member give way?
Ms Byrne:
Sol
I need to make progress; I have to cover a lot of ground.I seek an assurance from the minister that the situation will be rectified immediately, so that PACE...
The Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning (Allan Wilson):
Lab
I am a lifelong trade unionist, too, and the subject matter of the debate is close to my heart. I thank Rosemary Byrne and Solidarity for giving us the oppor...
Ms Byrne:
Sol
Does the minister agree that up to now the PACE initiative has been disappointing and that there is a need to press for improvements as quickly as possible?
Allan Wilson:
Lab
In the context of PACE, there is an issue when an employer refuses to co-operate with public agencies that deliver services, as has happened in the case that...
Irene Oldfather:
Lab
Has the minister had any advice from officials about any way in which the closure might contravene the European information and consultation directive? Would...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
You now have one minute left, Mr Wilson.
Allan Wilson:
Lab
Thank you, Presiding Officer—although that is not a long time in which to deal with what are fairly complex matters. I will perhaps come back to some of thes...
Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
We are whole-heartedly in favour of workers' rights, and we are grateful to Solidarity for creating this opportunity to debate the subject. We believe that, ...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
Jim Mather has talked about the Government's position. I wonder what the Scottish National Party's position is on the proposed bill to reform the trade union...
Jim Mather:
SNP
We will give it due consideration. Today, I am calling for a proper and full debate in which we learn from other places. There is a difficult blend to be ach...
Allan Wilson:
Lab
I agree. Would the member agree with me that the UK has been spectacularly successful in that context? It is one of only three EU countries that have surpass...
Jim Mather:
SNP
There has been an element of success but, if we consider countries such as Denmark, we find that they have achieved that better. We are currently facing the ...
Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con):
Con
Rosemary Byrne's speech was wide-ranging and time is a constraining factor in the debate, so I will not seek to make interventions and I will not take any du...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I apologise to the Presiding Officer and to Rosemary Byrne for being late. One is subject to the vagaries of the taxi service, such as it is.It may surprise ...
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
I am surprised.
Mr Stone:
LD
I thank Jackie Baillie for that.Having worked in the oil fabrication sector and in the drilling sector for some years, I understand exactly the fear that has...
The Presiding Officer:
NPA
I thank the member for being brief. Such short debates always mean truncated speeches and few interventions. They are not particularly satisfactory in that r...
Chris Ballance (South of Scotland) (Green):
Green
I will stick to my two minutes. The motion is excellent and it is important to debate such issues. It is positive that all members—in the motion and the amen...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
I acknowledge the difficulties that have been experienced by workers in Simclar, NCR Dundee and Young's, and in Methode Electronics Europe in my constituency...
Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Sol):
Sol
Will the member confirm the truth to the chamber—that the quotes that she read out come from the NUJ chapel that happens to be the Scottish Socialist Party c...
Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP):
SSP
That is rubbish.
Jackie Baillie:
Lab
A member has responded to Mr Sheridan's point from a sedentary position. I understand that both the organisations to which I referred are in formal dispute w...
Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I deplore Jackie Baillie's rather petty contribution to this morning's debate. It did not set the right tone, especially for the Simclar workers who are look...
Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP):
SSP
I welcome this debate on workers' rights, which is long overdue. I regret the fact that the chamber has been spurred into action on the matter by the Simclar...
Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab):
Lab
First, I apologise to the chamber—I have had laryngitis this week, but I thought that it was important to come here today to make the case that the Simclar w...
Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (Ind):
Ind
I congratulate Rosemary Byrne and Solidarity on bringing the issue of workers' rights to the Parliament, and I acknowledge the immense amount of work that Ro...
Bill Aitken (Glasgow) (Con):
Con
This has been an extremely unhappy debate. I have never been a trade unionist, but I have been made redundant—it happened six months before the Parliament ca...