The Confederation of Shipbuilding Unions have slammed the recently published Modernising Defence Programme.
Ian Waddell at the CSEU (Confederation of Shipbuilding Unions) had this to say:
“After months of delay, this 28-page report does nothing to secure the vital importance of UK shipbuilding. The Government claim that the National Shipbuilding Strategy has secured 4,000 jobs, but the blunt reality is that the Government’s obsession with tendering contracts out to international competition is slowly killing the shipbuilding industry. In recent months, we have seen the intended closure of Appledore, with Rosyth facing a similar fate if action is not taken.
The National Security Objectives set out in the report state the intention of the MoD is to ‘protect our people, global influence and prosperity’, but by showing a complete lack of support for UK industry and the thousands of jobs reliant on the MoD awarding contracts domestically, the MoD cannot truly meet these objectives.”
Waddell also criticised plans to tender the Fleet Solid Support Ships internationally, he said:
“Ministers have hidden behind EU regulations to avoid building these ships in Britain, even though our yards are world-class. British shipbuilding will become the first strategically important industry to fail because of Brexit. Ironically, it is the communities in Brexit voting areas like Devon, Tyneside and Merseyside who are being hardest hit. Ministers say they are starting to listen because of the strength of this campaign and because they’re getting the same message from multiple sources and that it is to be welcomed. European Member States including France, Germany, Italy and Spain all build support ships domestically because they are classed as military ships for national security reasons.
It is through the looking glass stuff when these same countries are invited by our own Government to bid for combat support ships armed with anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters because the Government says they are commercial ships. By simply applying for a derogation under EU rules we can build these ships in Britain and safeguard a supply chain which extends to some 30,000 skilled workers in every part of the UK. It beggars belief that instead, Defence Ministers are prepared to sacrifice an iconic industry on the altar of competition, pretending their hands are tied by the EU while calling for Brexit.”
Continues at -
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/cseu-sa ... N79M29yf_M
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