HUNDREDS of Scottish jobs are under threat following the takeover of a glass manufacturing company and a bid by a Japanese hi-tech firm to move IT posts overseas.
Glass workers union GMB has demanded reassurances for workers after a North Lanarkshire factory was sold.
The GMB said that staff at Pilkington Glass were not officially briefed on the company’s plan to sell off the plant to rival Glass Systems.
Glass Systems has also bought a site in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, and the union fears some roles could be moved down to England.
GMB has written to the Scottish Government demanding reassurance for the 92 members of staff at Cumbernauld.
But a spokesman for Pilkington has declared that it has worked closely with the new owners to ensure all jobs will be retained.
Benny Rankin, GMB Scotland Organiser, said: “We have now found out that Pilkington are planning to sell the Cumbernauld site.
“Unfortunately we, along with the workforce, were forced to find out through a process of elimination rather than through the proper briefing that we would have expected.
“We obviously have real concerns about the intentions of Glass Systems."
He added: “Scottish manufacturing jobs have taken a hammering over many decades now and we fear this sale makes another plant vulnerable.
“We are demanding urgent talks with Glass Systems and we will be making sure our members’ rights are fully respected by the incoming company.
“GMB Scotland has also written to the Scottish Government alerting them to the sale and asking them to seek assurances from Glass Systems over the future of the Cumbernauld plant."
In a separate dispute, the Unite union said that its members will stage a walk out at Fujitsu plants across the country, including the Scottish capital and Belfast, Birmingham, London and Manchester, on March 24 and 27 at sites across the UK
The workers took part in a strike yesterday, mounting picket lines as part of a campaign over plans which Unite says will lead to 1,800 Uk jobs being sent offshore.
National officer Ian Tonks said: "There has been magnificent support for today's strike action. Workers are rightly angry at Fujitsu which has gone out of its way to undermine and frustrate attempts by Unite to save jobs and redeploy people.
"Other than saying job cuts are on the cards, any meaningful plans for the business in the UK have yet to be shared with employees, leaving them in the dark over their futures. This is a contemptible way to treat a workforce which has worked hard to make Fujitsu in the UK highly profitable.
"Fujitsu needs to start seriously engaging with Unite over these plans which could damage customer service and the firm's reputation in the UK."
Matt Buckley, Managing Director of UK&I Architectural at Pilkington: “Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, part of the NSG Group, has accepted an offer to sell its AG (Barnsley) and Cumbernauld businesses to the Glass Systems Group. The sale also includes the Pilkington Cervoglass roof unit business.
“242 Pilkington employees across the two sites will be directly affected by this sale. As part of the agreement, the employment of all 242 will be transferred via TUPE to Glass Systems North on 31 March 2017.
“All parties were briefed earlier today.
“We have worked closely with Glass Systems during this process to ensure all jobs will be retained.”
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