NEARLY 150 jobs are under threat after plans were revealed for the closure of a steel manufacturing plant in South Queensferry.
Progress Rail Services, part of US-based Caterpillar plans to make 147 workers redundant by the end of the year with a union saying it was brought on by a decision by Network Rail to award a five-year contract to overseas suppliers.
The Unite union warned if the closure goes ahead it would be another “massive blow” to Scottish manufacturing and the country’s domestic rail infrastructure and appealed to the Scottish and UK Governments to intervene to support high-quality jobs.
PRS which supplies rail products has five manufacturing sites it has across the UK and employs 450 people.
The group offers offers locomotives and makes grade crossing and wayside signals, PRS acquired the UK-based manufacturing business that previously traded as North British Steel Group and Edgar Allen Ltd in 2011.
The company describes the Queensferry plant as “one of the most modern steel foundries in the UK with a history of high-integrity steel casting manufacture for over 100 years”.
The redundancies are due to start from November 30 with the dismissals expected by the end of the year.
The proposed closure come after the decision by Wabtec to close its Kilmarnock factory in March this year, which refurbished high speed train carriages leaving around 100 workers unemployed.
In July 2019, some 200 jobs were lost after a key rail repair factory, the Caley Rail works in Springburn shut.
The historic St Rollox depot under British Rail ownership once employed some 4000 workers and exported locomotives to all corners of the empire. It ended up providing servicing and repairs to rolling stock belonging to a number of train operators, including ScotRail.
Unite the closure would mean the repairs and maintenance of Scotland’s rail stock would be carried out in England.
Unite industrial officer Graeme Turnbull said of the latest development: “The news that Progress Rail Services is closing its South Queensferry site is a massive blow to Scottish manufacturing.
“Around 150 highly skilled jobs are on the brink of being lost over the coming months, which is why we are calling on the Scottish and UK Governments to immediately initiate discussions with the company and Unite to see what measures could be brought forward to keep the site open.
“It’s depressing news to see a successful UK-based manufacturer that has supported this country’s rail infrastructure for over 100 years being faced with closure. The loss would mean that the entire UK network would be fully dependant on imported railway components, which would be a further travesty following the closures of Wabtec and the Caley Rail works.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Network Rail has yet to award its new track (switches and crossings) contracts but has approached its current suppliers with the indicative outcome of its tender and bidding process.
“The vast majority of this work, around 90 percent, remains in the UK. Progress Rail currently has a full workload from Network Rail for at least another six months and we continue to work with them, and their US owning company Caterpillar, to manage current orders which they have accepted and are contracted to complete.”
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