(Sorry this is a bit late in being posted )
AN ELEVENTH-hour deal to save most of the threatened Hoover factory jobs at Cambuslang is on the negotiating table after unions confirmed that a rescue package be presented to employers by the end of next week.
Amicus officials yesterday held what they described as positive talks with Hoover management in an attempt to persuade them not to transfer about 80 jobs to a sister plant in Merthyr Tydfil, south Wales.
The union has abandoned its bid to prevent work being transferred to China but insists that manufacturing on the site, which has been a mainstay of the local economy for six decades, can continue.
Hoover estimates that it can save £750,000 by switching some production to Wales, but both Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Council are working on a package of incentives which will leave the manufacturing output at Cambuslang as a viable concern.
Hoover’s parent company, Candy, is expected to make its final decision on the future of the workforce within the next fortnight.
Hoover has already pledged to keep 100 design, sales and servicing jobs in the Cambuslang area, but would close the sprawling plant, moving staff to a smaller site at nearby Westburn.
Bernie Hamilton, an official with Amicus, said that hope remained that Hoover would stay in South Lanarkshire.
He said: “There is a viable prospect and opportunity for Cambuslang. We looked at the arguments they presented, and in terms of China we can’t argue a case, but the decision to move work to Wales is unacceptable to us.
“Morally, the workforce in Cambuslang has already won work to produce Hoover’s latest model of cleaner from low-wage competitors in Portugal.
“The management are now giving serious consideration to keeping that product and those jobs at Cambuslang.
“We will be given an indication of their decision within the next week to ten days,” he added.
Mr Hamilton said that Hoover’s argument about transferring the jobs to Wales rests on savings on rent, rates and lower insurance costs.
However, he said that external agencies, including Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire Council, had done a “sterling job” in finding a package of incentives which could at least meet the savings offered by Merthyr Tydfil.
Mr Hamilton added: “They’re making it as difficult as possible for the company to justify their position. If we can work with these agencies to get a competitive package that dents that £750,000 quite significantly, then there’s a real possibility of saving those jobs.
“That package, aligned with the workforce and aligned with the upheaval of moving to Wales, we believe, will see those manufacturing jobs stay in Cambuslang.”
The union added that saving 180 from a potential jobs cull of 300 would signify a major victory.
Eddie McAvoy, the leader of South Lanarkshire Council, yesterday confirmed that officials had met with Hoover to discuss a rescue package.
He said: “We welcome the move by the trade unions to retain the manufacturing base at Cambuslang.
“We feel that this is the best way forward and the council will be working with Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire and the Hoover management to offer any assistance that we can.”
A spokeswoman for Scottish Development International, the offshoot of Scottish Enterprise dealing with the discussions said: “We have undertaken to do everything possible to maximise the company’s future presence in Scotland.
“Since Hoover’s announcement of these plans, we have met regularly with the company to try and persuade them of the benefits of retaining UK production at Cambuslang. These discussions continue.”
Hoover staff and unions are planning a major rally on 22 November in Cambuslang. Up to 1,000 campaigners are expected to signal their support for the workforce whose jobs are under threat by marching through the town to the plant.
The Hoover plant opened in the town in 1946, and at its peak once employed almost 4,000 manufacturing and design workers.
A spokeswoman for Hoover said: “We are still in consultations and every aspect will be looked at and considered.”
From The Scotsman