Save the Simclar Workers

That the Parliament condemns the decision of the Simclar Group, based in Irvine, to withdraw from hard-tooling manufacturing, resulting in the effective sacking of 200 permanent and 40 temporary workers; recognises that the Simclar Group is one of Scotland’s largest family-owned manufacturing concerns and has operations in Dunfermline in Fife and Kilwinning in North Ayrshire, as well as in Mexico, China and the United States of America, with a worldwide workforce of about 2,200; believes that the decision to sack 240 Scottish workers has been taken, as stated by a Simclar spokesperson, due to the “rising cost of production and relentless market pressure” and is a direct result of the failure of New Labour’s economic policies; notes that unemployment in this part of Ayrshire is the highest in Scotland, and therefore calls on the Scottish Executive to demand top-level talks with the Simclar Group to convince it to reverse its unacceptable decision, to lobby New Labour in Westminster to bring redundancy payments and other legislation designed to protect workers’ rights up to at least European-wide standards, to ensure that Simclar uses the statutory 90-day consultation period to try to find suitable alternative employment for its workers in the local area and to do everything in its power to minimise compulsory redundancies and to establish a task force in the local area to support the Simclar workers and regenerate the Ayrshire economy with sustainable long-term manufacturing jobs.