Evidence submitted by the GMB
BACKGROUND
The GMB is Britain's third largest trade union with 600,000 members of which 61,580 members are based in Scotland. Approximately 25% of our membership is in the manufacturing section ranging from food manufacturing to manufacture and repair of nuclear submarines.
The GMB has a large membership in the defence sector working both directly for the MOD and the private manufactures providing a range of products and services to the MOD. These include. Airbus, Bombardier, BAE Systems, Babcock, Rolls-Royce, Smith Industries, Thales and the VT Group and outsourced and privatised sector companies including Landmarc and Qinetiq.
Our membership ranges across the whole employment sector from cleaners, cooks and drivers to engineers, fitters, maintenance, and construction workers.
GMB Scotland welcomes the opportunity of making a contribution to the Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry on Employment and Skills for the Defence Industry in Scotland.
There are approximately 15,000 defence related jobs in Scotland in around 170 companies which is a higher proportion of the manufacturing workforce than other parts of the UK.
The largest employers in the defence sector in Scotland are the MOD, BAE Systems and Babcocks and Thales. The GMB has a significant membership in MOD, BAE Systems and Babcocks and a smaller membership in Thales.
FUTURE WORK LOAD AND DEFENCE INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY
The GMB has supported the Defence industrial strategy which was led by the previous MOD Minister for procurement Lord Drayson. The GMB was a significant contributor to the CSEU's response to the Defence Industrial Strategy.
In our response we accepted the strategic importance of high value design and systems engineering capabilities in the defence sector. We also believed that sovereignty and operational independence would become the watch words for the retention of our industrial base rather than jobs or production capacity.
However, the CSEU believed that some parts of the DIS strategy was fundamentally wrong in that we did not accept that the construct of hulls and platforms may in some respects be less skilled than high-tech information communications technology and weapons systems.
We were and are still of the view that this type of work is still part of modern day high tech engineering that has a very definite future in the UK. The skills involved are interchangeable with those of the offshore sector, engineering construction and the renewable energy sector. It is vital that the Scotland keeps a foothold in this sector especially with the higher targets for renewable energy generation in Scotland.
The continued construction of military hulls in the UK is vital to provide the training and skills in this sector. It also provides work for a large number of skilled people in many of the remote parts of Scotland and the UK.
However, we have a number of concerns that excluding the manufacture of platforms would have knock on effects on other UK industries, jobs, skills and the economies of some of the more remote parts of the UK where there is little alternative employment.
We believe that although the strategy to some extent recognises this, the Strategy needed to have more consideration for link between UK defence strategy and that of the overall UK economy especially in the areas, of employment, intellectual property, skills, training and regional development.
It is our belief that shipbuilding provides a large number of the UK and Scottish population in particular with ability to increase their skills level to S/NVQ level 3 via apprenticeships. To allow valuable work on the construction of platforms to be outsourced to offshore countries would undermine the skills level and training opportunities to those young people not able to go to university in Scotland and the UK.
THE MOD ORDER BOOK
It is our view that the MOD order for the two carriers provides both the UK shipbuilding companies and the workforce with the opportunity to produce two world class vessels. That will have the ability to raise the skill levels in the shipyards to new higher levels.
This must be exploited to the ultimate to ensure new work is won by the yards over a sustained period of time not just over the next few years. To this end we support the joint venture between BAE Systems on the Clyde and VT Group in Portsmouth.
The MOD order book is particularly strong at the moment if all the existing and planned orders are purchased, the GMB is keen that as much work as possible is undertaken in the UK and in Scotland in particular.
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The Order Book consists of: |
2 Aircraft carriers |
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6 type 45 destroyers |
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8 Astute submarines |
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6 Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability auxiliary ships |
The key factors for the UK shipbuilding industry and the workforce is placing the orders at the right time to ensure there is a steady flow work and sufficient skilled workers can be trained through apprenticeships in time to start work on the projects.
Too often in the past the shipbuilding sector has had to put up with boom and bust. This is not in the interest of the companies, the workforce or the MOD. We have just suffered a number of years of redundancies in Babcocks Rosyth yard now we need to start recruiting again.
We are also concerned over the Military Afloat Reach & Sustainability auxiliary ships (MARS) programme in that the GMB and other trade unions clearly see this as military orders for UK yards and not civilian ships open to global tender.
It is our view that the MARS programme should dovetail with the Carrier and type 45 contracts to enable work to be sustained in the yards for as long a period of time as possible. This might delay the timing of these vessels. However, the timing of the Aircraft carriers is also delayed due to the length of time it has taken to agree the final specification. We believe that the announcement that the first 6 tankers in the MARS contract will be put out to global tender is wrong.
It had been suggested in a number of circles that for MARS support ship orders, that construction of the hulls would be cheaper offshore in China. The GMB would strongly object to this. We would point not only to the low wage, low health and safety regime where on average six people per day die in industrial accidents. We would also point to the pollution and increased contribution to global warming that industrial production in China would cause.
The other alternative put forward by BAE Systems is cooperation with the Deawoo Shipbuilding and Marine the South Korean shipbuilder to bid for the first phase of the MARS contract. This would mean the design work would be undertaken in the UK but the build would take place in Korea. This does allow for the transfer of a later build to the UK.
The GMB has expressed concern over the loss of this work on a number of occasions. We have concerns that this opportunity to diversify into other than straight military vessels and the skills that go with it will be lost. Thus preventing the UK from competing for future MARS orders.
The GMB and the CSEU are also concerned that with the need to divert MOD expenditure and resources to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan that these will lead to delays and or cancellations of orders for new vessels. It will also lead to the delay or cancellation of the refitting and refurbishment of existing naval vessels. This sentiment has been echoed in the Scottish press.
As a result of these concerns the CSEU shipbuilding committee met with the new MOD minister for Procurement in January 2008 to discuss these issues. We were assured by the Minister that at the present the only delays were due to details of design and contract on the carrier programme.
The worst case scenario for us is that the order for the MARS project goes overseas and then the Type 45 contract is suspended or stopped at four vessels and the carrier project is put back. Leaving a gap in the order book that could not be filled by the MARS project as this order had already gone overseas.
SKILLS REQUIREMENTS
In order to access the skills and skills gaps in the shipbuilding and offshore sector, in 2002 SEMTA conducted a detailed database of the marine and fabrication workforce in the UK.
Previous work had indicated that official statistics provided basic data, but could not give a complete picture of the industry since the workforce moves not only between companies and regions but also between sectors.
The GMB worked with SEMTA and the DTI looking at skills, skills gaps and the age profile of the UK workforce. The National Marine Engineering and Offshore Fabrication Skills Database Progress Report Updated version, was published in October 2003.
The results showed that roughly a third of the workforce is between 40 to 49 years old. Of concern is the fact that there are 10% more people in the age band 50 to 59 years (29%) than there are in the group 30 to 39 years (19%). However, the recent upturn in orders has showed that a greater number of 16 to 24 year olds are now entering the sector.
The GMB believes that the skills base in the UK needs improving at level 3 and the skills required in shipbuilding are an excellent place to do this. The skills involved in shipbuilding are interchangeable with those of the offshore sector, engineering construction and the renewable energy sector.
At the present time only 30% of school leavers continue on to university in the UK. However the University of Dundee estimates that this is as high as 50% in Scotland. While the Basic Skills Agency estimate that some 7 million of the working population do not have basic skills in reading and writing.
The poverty site estimates that between 20% and 25% of young people in Scotland between the ages of 16 and 19 do not have a qualification at level 2. Although not good in itself it is lower than the rest of the UK which ranges from 25% to 30%.
APPRENTICESHIPS
The GMB has been a strong supporter of the traditional apprenticeships as a way of boosting skills of those young people who do not go onto higher education. It is our view that apprenticeships which are connected to employment are one of the best training grounds for the improving skills in Scotland and the UK as a whole.
We have argued for making apprenticeships more attractive to girl school leavers as well as boys. Our experience suggested once you get over the initial problems that employing women actually improves the job for all including the men.
The GMB has been a strong advocate of Adult mature apprenticeships. Work undertaken by City and Guilds and Natfhe (Now UCU) trade union around 2002 showed that it would not be possible to resolve the skill shortage caused by the ageing workforce by conventional apprenticeships alone. This would take up to 15 years to resolve through this method.
The only way to resolve the skills shortage was a mixture of conventional apprenticeships, migrant labour and adult training. The GMB has long favoured adult mature apprenticeships for adults over the age of 26. There are two main types of adult that fall into this category.
These are those older unskilled workers that missed the opportunity for an apprenticeship as a school leaver and those existing skilled workers who are made redundant and need to retrain with new skills, but bring existing skills with them.
The GMB has participated with both British Gas in the utility sector and also with the VT Group in the shipbuilding and repair sector. These two schemes have been very successful for both employer and employee. In fact these older apprentices often become more loyal and better employees and are less likely to seek alternative employment.
The GMB also see apprenticeships as a route to higher education through Foundation Degrees and similar vehicles. This allows the apprenticeship qualification to be an entry qualification for a Foundation Degrees at a later stage in life.
The GMB strongly supports the Government's "World Class Apprenticeship" 2008 proposals based on the Leitch report on increasing the number of apprentices in England to at lest 400.000 by 2020. We also support the aims of linking apprenticeships to education in schools, making apprenticeships more attractive to girls and ethnic minorities and the recognition of the need to provide adult mature apprentices. We would strongly advocate a similar route for Scotland.
The Appendix sets out the GMB approach to apprenticeships.
MIGRANT LABOUR
The GMB is not opposed to the use of migrant labour to fill skills gaps. We believe that this is inline with the freedom of movement under the European Union. However, we have always insisted that they are qualified at the skills levels they are being used at. They are given adequate health and safety training and they are paid the proper union rate and have the right to join a recognised trade union.
Again we have participated in an up skilling of migrant labour with VT Group in Portsmouth, this training also provided basic English as supplement.
Charles King
GMB Research
3 March 2008
APPENDIX I
GMB APPROACH TO APPRENTICESHIPS
This is the approach the GMB has argued for in apprenticeship schemes using both level 2 apprenticeships and level 3 advanced apprenticeships. These then lead on to Foundation degrees and then specialist degrees. We also believe that apprenticeships should be that employment on qualification.
We support entry through entrance tests that includes both basic Maths, English some practical assessment to ensure that the candidates are suitable. This would apply to all candidates including those with existing qualifications.
This allows both the more academic and the less academic to obtain qualifications and to continue learning even after a gap or break. We also believe that there should be an equivalent entry from adult to adult/mature apprenticeships.
This route allows a semi skilled qualification at level 2 in the Apprenticeship at which stage people are allowed to trade. It also offers a semi skilled qualification for those in the Advanced Apprenticeship who are not able to complete the course. This prevents the situation where you have to complete the whole course before you can obtain a qualification. It also allows level 2 Apprenticeships to transfer to and continue training with a level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.
On completion of an advanced apprenticeship it allows a move on to a Foundation Degree and eventually to a full specialist degree. All the steps should allow progress to be continuous or continuation after a gap at any stage. Enabling apprentices to continue to progress to a higher level at a later stage. Our aim is to get as many people as possible to NVQ/SVQ level 3.
It is important to raise the skills level of all workers in the UK. A lot of adults missed the opportunity to undertake apprentices on leaving school. While many more adults require new skills when there existing job is made redundant.
We believe that it is important to them that training is made available to these older people in order that they can use their existing skills and obtain new relevant qualifications. It is also important that those with existing skills and qualifications have these taken into consideration when transferring to an Adult/Mature apprenticeship.
GMB APPROACH TO APPRENTICESHIPS
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