Union leaders are warning of a potential “massive betrayal” of working-class communities in Scotland if the Westminster government’s delayed national shipbuilding strategy, expected to be published on Tuesday, recommends that future contracts be awarded outside the UK.

An independent review of the long-term sustainability of UK shipbuilding, by the industrialist Sir John Parker, was submitted a fortnight ago and had been expected to form part of the autumn statement. Parker’s report is likely to question the current dominance of naval shipbuilding by BAE Systems at its Upper Clyde yards, and highlight the success of so-called “modular” construction of vessels in different locations around the UK.

Earlier this month, the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, announced work on eight Royal Navy Type 26 frigates would begin next summer exclusively at BAE’s Govan and Scotstoun yards, safeguarding nearly 3,000 jobs. But as speculation grows about the contents of the Parker review, there are fears that work promised to Scotland could go to England.

Anxieties about the loss of Scottish contracts to both the the rest of the UK and overseas have been rife since the 2014 independence referendum campaign, when the impact of leaving the union on the future of the industry became a key issue.

Noting that shipbuilding on the Upper Clyde and the Forth supports nearly 10,000 jobs and generates more than £260m in wages for the economy, the GMB Scotland organiser and chair of CSEU Scotland, Gary Cook, said: “Scotland simply cannot do without these shipbuilding contracts. Any offshoring of future contracts outside of the UK would be a massive betrayal to British manufacturing and to the prosperity of working-class communities like Rosyth, which are supported by this type of work.”

Cook added: “Parker could present a fantastic opportunity to revitalise shipbuilding across the rest of the UK and, after the securing the long-term future of the Upper Clyde, sustain the significant economic and employment contribution made by the likes Rosyth for the next generation.”



Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland, Parker said his report would be recommending that all of the Type 26 frigates continue to be built by BAE on the Clyde, as well as the “modular” construction of future vessels in different locations in order to ready the UK industry for export challenges.

Parker said: “We are recommending that BAE really use that full workload to push forward with full modernisation of its technology, for example to advance its digital engineering, industrialisation and productivity along with unions, with training and with the workforce, so that it is absolutely match-fit to be the natural yard of choice for the very sophisticated top-of-the-end warships like the Type 26 and the next generation beyond that.”

Delays have dogged the replacement of the navy’s 13 ageing frigates. Last week, Westminster’s defence select committee warned that uncertainty over plans to replace the “woefully low” number of warships were putting Britain’s defences at risk.

In last autumn’s defence review, the government announced it would order eight new Type 26 warships instead of the original 13. There are concerns that promised work on smaller and cheaper offshore patrol vehicles will not be sufficient to keep the yards’ order books full and maintain the workforce. Plans for a state-of-the-art “frigate factory” – which it had been hoped would help the Clyde yards win future export orders – also appeared to have been shelved.

The navy is understood to favour the ships being built more quickly and cheaply abroad, while concerns have also been raised that defence budget cuts mean that there is simply not enough money for both Type 26 frigates and the smaller, general purpose Type 31 frigates – which were also promised in the defence review – to be made on the Clyde. While it would be politically risky for Fallon to renege on the Type 26 contracts now, the contracts for the Type 31 and three royal fleet auxiliary support vessels still hang in the balance.

Cook concluded: “The UK government has talked a lot about how the working class have been downtrodden, so we are challenging them to make good on their words by ensuring the contracts for the three RFA support vessels are awarded to British yards and also the contracts for the Type 31 frigates.’