GMB Scotland seals deal with subsea cable company to help create up to 1200 jobs

GMB Scotland has forged a landmark agreement with a subsea cable company to help create up to 1200 energy manufacturing jobs in Ayrshire.

The union signed the voluntary recognition agreement (VRA) with XLCC yesterday as it backed the company’s plans to transform the site of a former coal terminal at Hunterston.

The agreement will underpin the company’s plans to produce specialised subsea high voltage cables capable of transporting electricity generated by offshore windfarms in the UK and abroad.

Executives and union leaders met in Glasgow to finalise the agreement as GMB, one of the biggest unions across the UK energy sector, urged UK and Scottish ministers to help accelerate the development.

GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour, pictured, said the ground-breaking agreement shows how the voice of workers and their communities can be harnessed to help create new jobs in green energy.

She said: “Too many energy and manufacturing workers believe the transition to renewables is being done to them not with them.

“That must change and this agreement shows how. The voice of workers and their communities must shape industrial strategy and energy policies if our country is ever to turn talk into jobs.

“Only genuine and effective cooperation between industry, unions, and governments can help deliver the transformation needed in our manufacturing supply chains.

“We share the ambition of XLCC to create good, unionised jobs in Ayrshire and hope innovative agreements like this can be a template to help secure a new industrial future.”

GMB said the UK Government’s promise to create 650,000 new high-quality jobs will rest on harnessing the combined strength of industry and workers, and urged governments on both sides of the border to support the proposed cable plant at Hunterston.

The agreement details how the business and union will work together to campaign for the development while building industry-leading industrial relations. It is intended to pave the way to a full recognition agreement with collective bargaining as the workforce grows.

XLCC chief executive Ian Douglas, pictured, said: "This agreement is a significant step forward as we work to establish a new UK-based supply chain for HVDC subsea cable manufacturing.

“Our investment at Hunterston will create up to 1,200 skilled jobs and place Ayrshire at the heart of the UK’s energy transition. This is a truly transformative opportunity for community and country.

“We’re proud to be working in partnership with GMB to ensure these jobs offer long-term, high-quality opportunities in a growing global industry.”