PLANS to close the last workshop in Scotland servicing military vehicles will leave the Army in Scotland reliant on a "man with a van" repair service, a union has warned.
Pat McIlvogue of Unite union said the proposals were in danger of becoming a fait accomplit, but raised concerns that Army vehicles could be left at the side of the road, posing a security risk while awaiting repair.
"It is a fair assumption that security questions would arise. If the 'man with the van' can't easily repair it, major pieces of kit will have to be put on a trailer to England. That is not the kind of support the fighting men and women of the British army deserve in Scotland, it is absurd.
"There are major questions about this and that is why we think we need an independent inquiry into these proposals."
Staff at Babcock International's Defence Support Group in Stirling were told last week that plans to close the army repair centre were being opened for consultation, putting 60 staff at risk of redundancy.
The plans would see repairs for army vehicles provided by a team of six vans, each with a crew of two, managed from Catterick in England.
However the union said the plan appeared to breach agreements reached when Babcock International took over the service in three years ago. At the time the then defence minister Philip Dunne MP said the deal would put the DSG on a sustainable long-term footing.
Mr McIlvogue said: "This is too important to be decided by the slash of an anonymous accountant's pen. Unite wants an independent inquiry into Babcock's potential breach of contract and a risk assessment of what the plans mean for the delivery of army services. Army HQ Land must be involved in delivering that now."
"It is proposed that the workshop services to all army units in Scoltland will be replaced by a mobile van service. In other words a workshop the size of an aircraft hangar capable of servicing all army vehicles and the combat 10mm gun will be replaced by a 'Green Flag' style service run out of six vans each with a two man team... run from a base in Catterick in Yorkshire. You could not make it up."
"When it is all boiled down, we've got the men with accountants' pens in Babcock potentially putting the functining of the British Army in Scotland and beyond in jeopardy."
The DSG repair service for Army vehicles and equpiment used to be part of the MoD supporting the British Army in Scotland, and was sold off as part of an MOD privatisation programme in 2015. At the time Babcock International was supportive of a proposal for the DSG to be moved to RAF Leuchars by 2022, or to Edinburgh Barracks. Unite says it is the only site in the UK which can overhaul and repair British Army light guns, particularly the 105mm field gun. Although the Light Gun service is to be transferred to Bovington in the south of England, Unite says Babcock itself acknowledged that this site does not currently have anyone skilled enough to take on the work.
A spokeswoman for Babcock International said: “Babcock is currently reviewing the viability of three of its DSG service delivery locations under its Service Provision and Transformation Contract. As part of a comprehensive review of the business, this includes the potential closure of sites at Stirling, Bicester and Longmoor with the possibility of a number of redundancies early next year.
"We will be engaging in consultation with all those potentially affected, including our employees, union colleagues and customer.”
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