Twenty eight employees at an island salmon processor have been told their jobs are to go amid concern over the selection of who was be axed.
The redundancies at Scottish Salmon Company based in Stornoway were announced earlier this month but now there is growing disquiet at the strategy used to decide whose jobs are to go with claims that workers with families and locals are being pushed out.
Staff at the plant at Marybank, near the town, have been told that, despite assurances to many of them before Christmas that their jobs were safe, 28 jobs are now to go in the next month.
SSC’s plant at Marybank
A source close to staff said: “Many of them were told that their jobs were guaranteed and a few were told that they may have to be paid off. Now some of the ones who were told their jobs were safe are out and some of the ones who were due to go have been told they can stay.”
Fury is mounting after it emerged in the latest list of redundancies, most are staff with families and most of them are locals. The company is claimed to be discriminating against workers with families because they have decided that single staff and workers from abroad are better motivated and have less absence.
It is also being claimed that none of the management team are being made redundant.
The source said: “Scottish Salmon Company have now changed their mind and decided that they do not want to keep local people with families and that single people – especially ones from Poland – are the ones they want to stay.
“The staff have no problem with working with other Europeans but they are not happy at the discrimination against people with dependents in this country. If it is not illegal, it should be.”
There have also been claims that the workers were ordered to write to their councillors to plead for planning permission for controversial applications for fish farming sites. Most were still refused following enviromental concerns.
“Staff were given no choice in the matter. they were not asked, they were told. A woman from the office came round and made them all do it, put the letters in envelopes and went off with them.
“Some of the Europeans had no idea what they were signing. They all did it because the culture there is such that they knew they would probably be got rid of if they refused,” said the source.
Some councillors confirmed they had received letters from SSC staff urging them to grant permission for sites.
A spokeswoman insisted the processing company would make no official comment but that she wanted to give the background to the situation. She said SSC operated a system of elected staff representatives and the workers had indicated they were happy with them.
She claimed it was these representatives who set the criteria for redundancies based on the skills needed to keep the plant operational. It was on that basis the staff consultation took place. The redundancies were regrettable, she said, and due to lack of available fish but that layoffs would probably be temporary.
However, it seems that many in the workforce have rejected her claims. The source said: “This just nonsense from SSC. Certain people were told by a manager they would be staff representatives. It was a box-ticking exercise. The workers had no say and decisions are already made and being implemented before anyone is consulted.”
It has emerged that the company is now planning to move gutted fish north to Stornoway from a plant in Argyll for filleting before shipping it back south again.
oh dear……were that we all could get our way all of the time…..
there are planning regulations…they have tp applied, if in many cases loosely….the small intimate bays in harris just can’t be loaded with these systems that clearly have problems and in a number of cases deny local fishermen the grounds they’ve fished for generations.
disease has contributed to the loss of volume…their solution is is to bump in more and more cages and the proportionate volume of fish will rise anyway…in the push for volume and profit local opinion is being ignored.
Its sheer nonsense to suggest that those who want management and sustainability in this industry have anything to do with the job losses, when all anyone wants is balance and common sense…….of course the fish farming sector is a valuable contributor to employment, but by its cavalier approach here, people who actually live adjacent to developments, there will always be opposition….deeper water technology exists…containment systems that will avoid excessive chemical use and the removal of threat to indigenous stocks, through sea lice infestation has to be taken seriously.
If the above story is true, re canvassing councillors we enter very dubious territory indeed.
laying the myth of jobs for local people,another way of ramping up the pressure to get more sites,or plain nastiness because they have not so far??.Never swallowed the jobs for locals argument,since if you relocate a new employee then he instantly becomes a member of the community.But a blow for all those losing their employment whatever their status
correction……of course the fish farming sector is a valuable contributor to employment, but by virtue of its cavalier approach to people who actually live adjacent to developments, ensures there will always be opposition.
If there are discriminatory practices taking place then that would be illegal and it doesn’t matter who you are – we are all covered by the same law. The law should protect us all. That is not to say that sometimes people do get away with it. Contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission and seek advice. I heard this mentioned on the radio this morning and was concerned because the previous day I gave a seminar at the Holocaust Memorial Day event in An Lanntair. The only representative from our public bodies present was a police officer. Somewhat disappointing especially as this is not the first time that issues to do with equalities and human rights have been raised in the Western Isles. An excerpt from a film on human rights was shown which illustrated how an approach based on a human rights framework can make such a difference to its comunities. It is also an extremely cost effective way of providing sevices. In view of the stringent cutbacks that have to be made maybe its time that such an approach is given serious consideration. It could not only help to save jobs within the council but outwith the council as well. I finished the seminar with this conclusion:
“In conclusion what can we learn from these horrific events?” (Visit the Exhibition to see what human beings can do to each other)
I think that enough has already been said or intimated about what needs to be done by us all. Change is needed –including a change in our attitude towards equality and human rights.
There are political tensions all over Europe including the UK – there is a growth in the far right – not a surprising phenomenon under the current economic climate – and it should be a major concern for us all.
We need to blame someone for our current misery but who will it be?
The gay community, the Black and ethnic minority community, the Jews, the Roma, Gypsy Travellers, the Trade Unionists, the Jehovah Witnesses, the inteligensia, people with disabilities, the undeserving poor… and who will speak out for you? “
Maybe companies who deplete wild fish stocks by using ‘trash fish’ to maximise their profits aren’t above using ‘trash workers’? It would seem a logical step for them, given their mindset.
The vast majority of folk that work in their factory in Marybank are Scottish. The vast majority are locals and the vast majority of the speculative gossip and downright biggotry above is the only “trash” to be seen.