Call to stop bridge work in row over foreign suppliers
An artist's impression of the new Forth bridge
FIRST Minister Alex Salmond has been urged to halt the £1.6 billion Forth Replacement Crossing project amid a row over the decision to use steel from China and Europe.
The Community trade union, which represents the majority of Scottish steelworkers, claimed government agency Transport Scotland had been “disingenuous” when it said no Scottish firms had bid to supply the steel for the crossing.
The union said Tata Steel’s Dalzell steelworks in Motherwell had been part of a consortium initially involved in bidding for the tender.
Community general secretary Michael Leahy has written to Mr Salmond, calling for a halt to the project while a review of the procurement process is carried out.
In the letter, he said: “I was shocked to hear that no Scottish, or UK, steel would be used and I was confused to see the statement that ‘no Scottish firms bid’ to supply the steel.
“It seems clear that there has been an over-emphasis on cost at the expense of a focus on value to Scottish industries and communities.
“Our members at Tata Steel’s Dalzell site were shocked when they heard the news as they believe that their site has the capability and capacity to supply at least some of the steel the project requires.”
Mr Leahy said he had “seen too many politicians hide behind EU procurement rules in situations like this” and accused Transport Minister Keith Brown of joining the list.
The bridge will comprise 24,500 tonnes of steel from Shanghai, 8500 tonnes from Seville in Spain and 4200 tonnes from Gdansk in Poland.
Mr Leahy said he had spoken to senior executives at Tata Steel Europe who confirmed that the company had been indirectly involved in the tender process and that the Dalzell plant had the capability to supply some of the steel.
Labour said if it was the case a Scottish company was involved in bidding for the steel work but was turned down, contrary to claims from the Scottish Government, that was “a deeply concerning matter” and serious questions would need to be raised.
Mid Scotland and Fife Labour MSP John Park said: “Almost four years ago I warned that unless the procurement process was spot on, companies from Scotland and the rest of the UK would lose out on jobs and investment.
“The test for the consortium building the bridge is to ensure that Scottish workers get jobs, training and apprenticeship opportunities from this huge project. If they don’t, they can expect a serious backlash.”
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Comments
There are 59 comments to this article
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HenBroon
Sunday, February 5, 2012 at 10:10 AM43 dgg Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 11:55 PM This smacks of 'nae bevvyin' on the Clyde. Unfortunately Jimmy and his pals couldn't hold back the tide [sorry]. There are parallels. ___________________________________________________________ What a vile juvenile comment. It is precisely because of Jimmy and his pals (whose boots you could not lace,) that Fairfileds and Yarrows still exist today, flying the BAE flag. Had it not been for these brave and honourable men and their families, the London Tory's would have shut the Clyde at the stroke of a pen. As they did to most of our industries to reward their rich fat city gangster friends. Your comments are disgusting and dishonour one of the finest Scots that ever lived, Jimmy Reid.
dgg
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 12:09 AM#53 "central support structure". The problem isn't the strength of the roadway, it's the strength of the string the road hangs from - the cables are rusting. The more infrastructure on the road, the more stress on the cables. ================================================== New pillar mid-river? That means removing all the cables, the roadway and effectively starting again. ================================================== Pillar supporting the roadway from below? I think you can't mix suspension and supported systems, too many wayward stresses; you'd need to ask an engineer. ================================================== It's not going to happen. They would have thought of stuff like that first.
dgg
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 12:00 AMThe bridge is weakening and will be derated as soon as it no longer has sufficient safety margin and fails safety tests. This has been looming for some time and is imminent. But no, not tomorrow. There have been a few stories here and elsewhere on this topic over the last few years. ================================================== And yes it's hyperbole if I implied the old bridge would fall down. It'll be used for lighter traffic for years to come. If you date back to before the bridge was built, you will perhaps remember the twin hassles that were the Queensferry ferry and the Kincardine bridge. Our transport infrastructure can't be thrust back into those times. ================================================== And that's why the new bridge, now, before the old one can no longer take trucks. ================================================== The Severn has two bridges for similar reasons: capacity and strength. We demand equality.
Mark Bishop
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 08:49 PMA new bridge is an investment for the future. The question is: is the old one about to collapse in the NEAR future? Or is Dear Alex looking around for ways to spend money we don't have? Of course we need to buy the cheapestbest steel for the job. No point in spending more money than you have to on a project, there is less to go around for other things. Before we start spending anything on projects which are likely to be delayed (eg the trams or the parliament) and waste more money than it's worth, a long term plan for Scotland should be thought out (I expect it has already) but with a concrete projected cash flow, either foreign investment or with our own money. It appears that the planners are in cloud cuckoo land with an *it will be alright on the night* attitude. Another example of not thinking it through and costing it properly and sticking to the budget. Scotland's good at that.
Vote 'NO'
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 03:34 PM51 You mean he's a freaking IDIOT?
runaway
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:21 PMLets end this rubbish now...If you went to buy a new car and one dealer said ,i'll sell you this brand new car for £10,000 and another dealer said i'll sell you the same car for £6,000, what would you lot do...thought so...get a grip..
runaway
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:07 PMWhy cant they not build a new central support structure on the existing bridge, solid box type support like the San Francisco bridge that can sway and support, its not that many big ships come up here now that you have to worry about space....
Hearthammer
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:03 PMIt's good to know that the BritNats are all protectionists to a man! You should maybe tell your BritNat government what you think! Once more for the hard of thinking! SCOTTISH STEEL COMPANIES DID NOT TENDER! What about that statement don't you BritNats understand?
Sally Longlegs
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 11:29 AMI think Family Guy is a bit mixed up.
Sally Longlegs
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 11:27 AMFamily Guy do you know where India is?
Sally Longlegs
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 11:22 AMWere the Pandas involved in the bidding procedure? Wee Eck was over meeting the Chinese leaders before they came here and I wonder if the bridge was raised at their meetings?
Scat Rabies
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 10:31 AMAre the loonies suggesting the taxpayer pay over the odds just for UK steel ? Presumably the UK producers are selling their steel for more money elsewhere and that's why they won't compete . NB Socialists -that's how the real world works .
Jools in Edinburgh
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 01:17 AMGhost of Sir William Arrol.......In ten years we'll all be driving electric cars, the electricity will all be generated from renewables and the parts for these cars will be produced mainly from machines powered by electricity....so your prediction of the death of the motor car is a tad premature.
dgg
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:15 AM#32 --- "Where are the Scots jobs, and protection of Scots companies?" You confuse Nationalism and Protectionism. See the 1930s for reasons why this is not a good idea, irrespective of whether Jowly Eck rules Scotland.
dgg
Friday, February 3, 2012 at 12:09 AM19, 20, 21 --- I do like to see a well-developed line of argument. ***plonk***. I can read, obviously you can't if you infer Westminster as the root of all evil on this basis. There are plenty reasons to dislike Westminster decisions, but yours lack logic and coherence. And I'll resist gratuitous insult along the way.
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