Almost 150 jobs could be lost with threatened closure of steel plant in South Queensferry

ALMOST 150 jobs are set to be lost after Progress Rail Services announced the closure of its steel manufacturing plant in South Queensferry.

South Queensferry could see 147 jobs disappear if the plant closure goes ahead

The company plans to make 147 workers redundant by the end of the year after an indicative 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 it appealed to the Scottish and UK Governments to intervene to support high-quality jobs.

PRS has been a wholly owned subsidiary of US-based Caterpillar since 2006. Queensferry is one of five manufacturing sites it has across the UK.

PRS acquired the UK-based manufacturing business that previously traded as North British Steel Group and Edgar Allen Ltd in 2011.

The company website described 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.

The threatened closure follows the decision by Wabtec to close its Kilmarnock factory in March this year, which refurbished high speed train carriages, leaving around 100 workers unemployed. And in July last year, another key part of the rail transport infrastructure was lost as the Caley Rail works in Springburn closed with 200 highly-skilled direct and indirect jobs lost to the industry.

Unite industrial officer Graeme Turnbull said: “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.”

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