Calls for Holyrood inquiry into Livingston Kaiam collapse

Kaiam was called in administrators before Christmas

Labour’s Lothians MSP Neil Findlay spoke out after reports the Livingston firm asked the Scottish government to help it find £760,000 ten days before going into administration.

The firm’s staff were told by administrators on Christmas Eve that 310 out of the plant’s 338 workers were being made redundant with immediate effect.

Mr Findlay said: “This is staggering.

“Kaiam banked over £1 million of taxpayer cash and appeared to float the idea of getting hundreds of thousands of pounds more, before making over 300 workers redundant on Christmas Eve.

“This strengthens the case for a Holyrood inquiry into how government grants are handed to business, as it looks like this business has taken Scottish taxpayers for mugs and treated the workforce appallingly in the process.

“Scotland needs a proper industrial strategy to ensure public money is developing local economies, not simply handed to multinationals that cut their losses at the first opportunity.”

SNP Livingston MP Hannah Bardell and members of the West Lothian Women Facebook page set up a community hub for workers to get money, vouchers and gifts to see them through Christmas.

The MP also provided a letter for staff to take to their banks and other agencies to appeal for discretion when enforcing charges as they awaited funds.

All employees are now understood to have received their December wages and are now going through the statutory process to gain their redundancy pay.

A jobs fair for former Kaiam employees took place in Bathgate last month to support them in trying to get back into work.

Workers also met up to discuss joining together to seek a protective award of compensation from an Employment Tribunal.

Such claims can be awarded if an employer fails to keep staff informed and consulted on redundancies.

An online fundraiser for staff raised more than £23,000 having set a revised target of £20,000.

Instigator Mhairi Duff said: “We are delighted and overwhelmed with the amount of money raised.

“Some of this was used upfront to offer financial relief to many families before Christmas.”

The Scottish Parliament, meanwhile, has confirmed about 20 expressions of interest from prospective buyers for Kaiam.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Any decisions around parliamentary inquiries are, of course, a  matter for the Scottish Parliament. We understand KPMG is continuing to receive interest from potential buyers and Scottish Enterprise is providing advice as required.

“Through our PACE initiative, we organised a jobs fair on 17 January, which was attended by 137 former KAIAM employees.”

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