(West Scotland) (Con):...The impact on the industry has
already filtered through to its supply chains. In my region, that
was brought home by the news that 700 jobs would be lost at
Rolls-Royce’s
civil aerospace facility at Inchinnan, brought about by a drop in
orders as a result of the pandemic. Those redundancies will have a
devastating impact on the people and communities affected by
them...
(West
Scotland) (Lab): Rolls-Royce, with its
state-of-the-art facility at Inchinnan, is the jewel in the crown
of Scottish aerospace. It, too, depends on a healthy world
economy in which aviation is thriving. In the era of
environmental awareness, Rolls-Royce is a key player in
designing and developing aero engines that are more efficient and
less environmentally damaging. Without healthy aviation and
aerospace industries, my West Scotland region will be devastated;
700 workers at Rolls-Royce are already losing their
jobs, and many have been made redundant in the past few
weeks.
The measures that have been announced
by the Government to protect jobs in the sectors clearly have not
worked. Not one of the jobs at Rolls-Royce in Inchinnan has been
saved. Thousands of Scots in the sectors have already lost their
jobs, with thousands more set to lose theirs with the premature
ending of the furlough scheme. This is an unprecedented crisis
that requires an equally unprecedented Government
response.
It is right to recognise that certain
sectors need special help: surely, special help is justified for
the aviation and aerospace industries. How can our economy
recover and prosper if Glasgow airport cannot survive? How can we
provide the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow without Rolls-Royce jobs? If we are to
preserve a successful future for ordinary Scots, we need action
such as we have never seen before. We need not merely to extend
the job retention scheme, important though it is; we need to
build the industries back up. We need not to appease companies
that fire and rehire and companies that turn their backs on us
such as Rolls-Royce, but to push back against
offshoring and redundancies with a plan for urgent action...
(Renfrewshire South) (SNP): The impact on the
aerospace industry in Renfrewshire as a consequence of reduced
demand across the supply chain has been particularly marked at
the Rolls-Royce site at Inchinnan, where 700
jobs are going—half of the workforce. By any measure, that is a
huge blow to the local economy. In these difficult circumstances,
I welcome the work that is being undertaken by the Scottish
Government to support staff through PACE and the involvement of
the Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, , particularly through the establishment of the
aerospace response group.
I see Mr Hepburn in the chamber and understand that he will be
summing up for the Government. I ask him to give an update on the
work of the aerospace response group if he is able to, but to
write to me if he is not. A wide range of stakeholders is
involved in that group, and I very much welcome the involvement
of the unions, noting that the STUC, Unite, Prospect and the GMB
attended the last meeting for which minutes are available. I also
welcome the attendance of Renfrewshire Council and the inclusion
of representation from Rolls-Royce...
(Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley) (SNP):...Jobs have
already been lost. Around 270 jobs have been lost at GE
Caledonian and about 180 at Spirit AeroSystems. Rolls-Royce and Wyman-Gordon
have shed nearly 800 jobs. The consequent impact on our economy
is substantial, with a loss of anything between £90 million and
£140 million when the knock-on effects are considered. I note
that some aspects of Airlines UK’s recent letter to the Prime
Minister calling for him to intervene chimes with some of our
views about what needs to be done on job retention, for example.
It also asks for things such as air passenger duty waivers,
regional air corridors and Covid testing trials with five-day
quarantine arrangements. Perhaps I can leave that with the
minister to offer a view on later...
(Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):...The economic
impact of that is huge. Direct employment at airports is
affected, but there is also a huge knock-on effect on the wider
economy. and referred to
the job losses at Rolls-Royce in their area.
There is a knock-on effect on ancillary services for aviation—on
people who produce the food that people eat on planes; on people
who clean the planes; on people who service the airports; on
people who work in airport shops, bars and restaurants; on taxi
drivers and other transport providers; and on travel agents.
There is a huge knock-on effect on the wider economy. and
others talked about the impact on tourism. We need people flying
into Scotland to support our tourism economy. The scale of the
challenge is enormous...
(Dumbarton) (Lab):...Employees at every level of the
aviation industry, from pilots to baggage handlers, face
widespread uncertainty, with new redundancies announced almost
every day. It is not just the airlines and airports that are
struggling; off-site support services that provide catering and
cleaning are affected, too, as is the maintenance of aircraft. As
said, 700
redundancies have already been announced at Rolls-Royce and Inchinnan. We
also know about the impact on tourism businesses. The
cancellation of the Edinburgh International Festival alone has
cost the economy £1 billion, never mind the impact of that on
travel agents and hotels...
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