Euan Stainbank MP Urges Ministers to Back Alexander Dennis Workers as Jobs Consultation Extended
Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank has this week called in Parliament for urgent action to safeguard 400 jobs at Alexander Dennis in Falkirk, as the company confirmed that its workforce consultation has been extended to Monday.
The consultation period, due to close on Monday after extensive consultation, comes after months of deep anxiety for workers and their families. Alexander Dennis is the UK’s largest bus manufacturer and a cornerstone of Falkirk’s local economy.
Mr Stainbank highlighted the damaging impact of the SNP’s ScotZEB2 scheme, which initially sent over three times as many orders for buses to China as to Scotland’s only manufacturer. He noted that while £40 million has now been made available by Transport Scotland, the funding must be directed towards correcting what he described as an “industrial failure” and ensuring long-term support for the bus manufacturing sector.
In his intervention, Mr Stainbank pressed ministers on what engagement they have had with the Scottish Government regarding recently consulted-upon procurement reforms and their potential to support Scotland’s bus manufacturing operations in the years ahead.
Mr Stainbanksaid: “Workers at Alexander Dennis have faced months of uncertainty. This consultation has been a time of deep anxiety for them and their families.
“The SNP’s ScotZEB2 scheme was a disaster — sending three times as many bus orders to China as to Scotland’s only bus manufacturer. £40 million has now been pledged, but every penny must go into fixing this failure, protecting Scottish jobs, and backing British-built buses.
“I asked ministers today what engagement they have had with the Scottish Government on procurement reforms and how those reforms can strengthen our bus manufacturing sector in the long-term. We need a reliable order pipeline and procurement rules that value local jobs and skills.
“I welcome the fact that the Minister convened an extraordinary meeting of the UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel on July 28, attended by the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Metro Mayors, and Mayoral Combined Authorities. Following Anas Sarwar’s intervention to drum up orders from English Metro Mayors. That kind of cooperation is exactly what’s needed — and it must now be followed up with decisive action.”