MacAskill slams "unjust transition" during visit to Aberdeen

MACASKILL SLAMS "UNJUST TRANSITION" AS HE RENAMES UK GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT AS "DEPARTMENT FOR ENERGY INSECURITY AND NET JOB LOSSES" AT PROTEST OUTSIDE ABERDEEN OFFICE

Speaking today (Friday) outside the Aberdeen office of the UK Government Department for Energy Security and Net Zero Alba Party Leader Kenny MacAskill said

"We are here today outside the UK Government Office in Aberdeen to highlight the 'unjust transition' taking place. Labour has failed to deliver on the promises made before the UK Election to make Aberdeen and the North East an energy power house.

Keir Starmer promised to put Scotland at the 'beating heart of the UK.' instead we are facing the prospect of losing 400 jobs, the equivalent of Grangemouth closing, every fortnight and the loss of 115,000 jobs over five years.

We are told that there are to be civil service jobs dispersed with jobs coming north as GB Energy takes shape. But the lack of activity is startling. This should be renamed the Department of Energy Insecurity and Net Job Losses.

The suits are coming into Aberdeen, a few dozen, maybe even a few more than that but what we are seeing are thousands of workers laid off in the North Sea. Its suits in, boiler suits out under this Labour Government.

The oil in the North Sea should be Scotland's resource. The North Sea should be booming, Scotland requires it and yet what we are seeing is the North Sea being shut down with Aberdeen and the North East paying the price and few suits in will not replace the tens of thousands of boiler suits being lost.

Its time for Independence. Its time we controlled our own North Sea oil and its time we got the North Sea booming once again.”

Commenting on the situation in the North Sea, Ann Joss, RMT Regional Organiser said:

"What we have in real terms is what feels like total abandonment of a highly skilled workforce who feel badly let down and the continuous job losses are a reflection of that, not just directly in the sector but across the supply chain and our communities.

A lot of focus needs to be on the progress of the skills passport, the new jobs in green energy, collective bargaining rights across the whole sector, so in a way we are talking about advancement in all of these things for our workers in the North Sea.”