LAST Friday the Caley Rail works in Springburn, Glasgow, closed. This plant manufactured and refurbished trains since 1856.

To mark the occasion trade unions, led by Unite, held an event at the plant — the community gathered in an act of solidarity with a pipe band leading the railway workers out of the plant for the last time in emotional scenes.

This closure was fought tooth and nail by Unite and the RMT in a brilliant and energetic campaign, leaving no stone unturned in their effort to save the jobs and livelihoods of their members. The proposed closure was debated in the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments.

The unions presented a clear, coherent and positive case for retaining this profitable, skilled sector of Scotland’s industrial infrastructure.

Tragically and inexplicably, their calls fell on deaf ears. The SNP government at Holyrood simply didn’t want to know.

When push came to shove, they were nowhere to be seen. This is just the latest in series of industrial closures and job losses that expose the SNP’s lack of an active industrial strategy.

There are many questions that need to be answered:

Why is it right to step in to nationalise loss making Prestwick airport — a move I support — but wrong to nationalise or support with public money, the profit-making Caley?

Why is a nationalist government happy to see train repair, maintenance and refurbishment carried out outside of Scotland?

Why was there no statement from Nicola Sturgeon, Finance Secretary Derek MacKay, Fair Work Minister Jamie Hepburn or constituency MSP Bob Doris on Friday’s closure — not a word?

The SNP trade union group claims 16,000 members — so what has it been doing to support the Caley workers and their unions?

How has the group been using its muscle and influence within the SNP to defend jobs at the Caley, as well as at BiFab in Fife, and Michelin in Dundee?

What has the SNP trade union group been doing to defend the 40,000 jobs that have been lost at Scotland’s councils, where the SNP government has turned a Tory cut of 2.8 per cent into an SNP cut of 7.5 per cent?

The answer is the group has done absolutely nothing to help the campaign to Save the Caley, not even a social media post.

Indeed, searching the group’s Twitter feed, not a single word has been posted on any subject since March. Its Facebook page is almost completely devoid of any reference to recent trade union issues or campaigns.

I understand that the SNP Scottish parliamentary trade union group meets infrequently and, when it does, only one MSP, the group chair, turns up.

As I have always suspected, the SNP trade union group was, and is, a cynical flag of convenience to try to win trade unionists to the independence cause. It has nothing to do with organising nationalists to support industrial campaigns and struggles.

It is nothing to do with forcing their political masters in government to deliver an active industrial policy and it is most certainly nothing to do with holding ministers to account for their actions or inaction in cases such as the Caley and BiFab.

While SNP politicians and members ran a mile from the Caley campaign, you could be sure to see them the following day in Kintyre waving their saltires and shouting about another referendum. Why bother trying to save jobs when you can paint your face blue, wave a flag and shout “freedom”?

This gets to crux of issues about Scotland’s future. I completely understand that some people want Scotland to be independent, which is a perfectly legitimate position to hold.

However, wanting independence gives us zero indication as to what type of economy and society we would see following independence.

Independence in itself is just a different administrative arrangement; it is not a political philosophy. Therefore, my question to SNP members is this. If Scotland voted for independence what would that Scotland be like?

Would it be the Scotland envisaged in Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission with “flexicurity” in employment rights (making it easier to sack people), cuts to public spending and 10 more years of austerity?

Would we see a socialist or a free market, neoliberal Scotland?

Would we see a Scotland where there is state intervention and public ownership of key sectors?

Would we see a Scotland with low or “competitive taxes” including corporate taxes?

Would we see a Scotland fully signed up to the EU’s rules on debt and deficit?

What would be the level of our pension?

What currency would we be paid in and pay our mortgages in?

The workers at the Caley have been abandoned by the SNP in their hour of need. Is this an example of what we can expect in an independent Scotland?

Neil Findlay is Labour MSP for Lothian.