APPENDIX 17
Memorandum by Thurso & Wick Trades
Union Council
THURSO AND
WICK TRADES
COUNCIL
The Thurso & Wick Trades Union Council represents
Trade Union members from all the major employers in the Caithness
area. We are affiliated to the STUC and our remit is to look after
the interests of our members and issues that concern the local
community.
The Trades Council welcome the opportunity to
make this submission to the Trade and Industry Select Committee
Inquiry into the work of the NDA and the UKAEA.
We have always supported the UKAEA at Dounreay
and the workforce and campaigned on many issues relating to the
Dounreay Site.
These include to continue the Fast Reactor programme,
to oppose the European Parliaments move to stop the movement
of spent fuel and the Conservative Government's moves to privatise
the main elements of the Dounreay workforce.
Over the years we have seen the privatisation
action of major parts of the UKAEA at Dounreay. The privatisation
of AEA technology who have now sold on all their area of work
to other private companies. The sell off of the main facilities
management operations to Johnston Controls and the attempt of
the sell off of the core engineering group in the Fuel Cycle Area.
With this history we are extremely worried about
the future. Not only for the workforce and the community but also
the fear that safety could be compromised due to commercialisation
and inherent cost savings
UKAEA DOUNREAY
Dounreay started its life as the UK research
establishment for Fast reactor technology which continued until
the announcement by Cecil Parkinson in 1987 to end the research
& development and state that the programme would end and start
the run down of the site.
There had been many occasions when Governments
had sold off parts of UKAEA and attempted to make it into a commercial
organisation. This is all now history. What we now have in UKAEA
is an organisation that is demonstrating it has the knowledge
and expertise to decommission the Dounreay site to time and cost
safely.
UKAEA Dounreay employs in excess of 1000 staff
and over 1300 contractors. Publicly available statistics show
that 50 % of the employment in the North Sutherland and Caithness
is related directly and indirectly to Dounreay.
Dounreay's major activity is the decommissioning
of the site but now there is the added problem of change—they
must now compete for their site—this then means that costs
relating to decommissioning have to be diverted to competing for
their own sites and their own work, in addition to the cost reductions
forced on them by the NDA.
PENSIONS OFFICE
The Industry Wide Pension Scheme, being put
in place by the NDA (an Energy Act 2004 requirement), could adversely
affect the existing industry schemes putting pressure on the UKAEA
Thurso Pensions Office, presuming the office does not win the
contract for the new scheme, as the employees in the Site Licence
Companies will be encouraged to join the new scheme. A transfer
from the established schemes to the new scheme reduces the administration
functions resulting in a reduction in pensions staff and a reduction
in effective administration. All of this is a function of privatisation.
NDA
The NDA was set up on the 1 April 2005, prior
to it being set up it was preceded by the LMU an organisation
under the DTI which hired Bechtel to advance American concepts
in decommissioning.
The NDA was created through the Energy Act
2004, we wonder why the government accepted the American advice
and set up an additional NDPD when the DTI already had controls
in place.
The NDA is made up of employees from the existing
industry or previous industry organisation and ex-members of the
DTI.
We question the value for money and the need
for such a large and expensive organisation to over see the Decommission
programme and the need for them to force UKAEA Dounreay to compete
for its own work.
FUTURE
There is of course new build and there is an
opportunity for Dounreay but is it the real answer to the long
term employment prospects for the Dounreay site ands fore Caithness.
There are many Socio Economic issues to be addressed
in this area, it will not be easy and it could be expensive.
A local Socio Economic working Group is developing
a strategy document looking at the possible way forward. This
will be issued fairly soon for public consultation.
Once this has been agreed it must be carefully
carried forward by a major player with government backing.
NOTABLE POINTS
UKAEA was successfully managing the decommissioning
of its site at Dounreay for the DTI prior to the set up of the
NDA.
The inclusion of the NDA inserts another layer
of bureaucracy.
The NDA has increased costs of decommissioning,
it is an expensive
organisation whose costs account for a significant
proportion of its spend (reference NDA Draft Strategy 2005) presently
above the savings required of the site operator.
Competition costs must be absorbed by the NDA
There is a drive to accelerate the decommissioning
programmes that essentially forces an increased rate of unemployment
in an area that has been enveloped by one major employer for 50
years. Unemployment will be across all parts of the community
not just Dounreay. The NDA has a duty to the Socio-Economic effect
but has no responsibility to its repair.
Competition has the potential to remove local
income, especially so if the successful bids are outwith the community
and the UK. It is locally perceived that the majority employer
will become an American company.
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