THE Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), the GMB Scotland and Unite Scotland have launched a campaign to get EDF to put a substantial amount of work into the yards that are lying dormant in Fife. 

They are calling on EDF to do the right thing, for the environment, for the community, for the people of Scotland. EDF, build your jackets in Fife.

The Scottish government has a policy of achieving a zero-carbon economy. How does manufacturing our renewable infrastructure on the other side of the world fit in with that policy? It doesn’t.

We have all the expertise in Fife to build this infrastructure. We have the people with all the skills, some of them sitting on the dole at this very moment.

We have empty yards that have been mothballed. This is an insult to the craftsmanship these workers and yards can produce.

The STUC, Unite and the GMB will be putting pressure on EDF to put the work here. We need our communities to come together with the trade unions to add their voices and we have both Methil and Buckhaven & Denbeath Community Councils pledging support. 

But more than that, we need the Scottish government to live up to its renewable promises and for it to put pressure on EDF.

We are facing a climate catastrophe and need to move to renewables for our needs. A succession of politicians have spouted about creating a renewable industry for the 21st century. 

Where are the pledges and commitments, both EDF and the Scottish government, promised Scotland and its fabrication yards?

We need more than empty promises and rhetorical lip service. If we are serious about stopping climate change then we need to have a real industrial strategy that will allow us to manufacture all the needed renewable infrastructure in this country.

We need an industrial strategy that will create real, well-paid jobs for our workers who are on the dole and for the young people, still at secondary schools, who will be starting out on their own renewables careers.

We need action now, not more empty promises of future jobs that never transpire.

Fife is ready for renewal. A public meeting is being held in Buckhaven Community Centre on June 20 and EDF is invited to come and hear first-hand the needs and concerns of the community and the workers who are ready and waiting for this work.