Scottish Labour has called for an urgent ministerial statement this week on recent developments within ‘Caledonian MacBrayne’ and its associated companies.
This follows three matters which the Labour party has identified in its media statement as key to a situation which requires immediate clarification.
A week ago there was the sudden resignation of Archie Robertson as Chief Executive of the David MacBrayne Group, whose significant company is Caledonian Ferries Limited, the former Caledonian MacBrayne.
There is the continuing delay in the Government’s publication of its policy on the Clyde and Hebridean ferry services.
This, say Labour with obvious evidence, is fuelling speculation over the nature of the Government’s intentions for the future of the lifeline ferry routes.
Before these matters there was the Government’s shock award of the Orkney and Shetland ferry services contract – not to its state-owned company, NorthLink Ferries, now toast but then another member company of the David MacBrayne group – but to a new and inexperienced entrant to serious ferry operation, Serco, a massive general purpose service supplier to the public sector.
The RMT union remains in discussion with Serco over jobs and pension rights in the aftermath of this telling government move.
Relations between the David MacBrayne Group and the Scottish Government have deteriorated progressively from the signal contract award to Serco and from other evidences that indicate the government’s direction of travel for the future of the Clyde and Hebridean lifeline ferry services.
It seems bizarre that the Scottish Government, focused on leading a newly independent nation, has not learned to move beyond the Thatcherite ‘selling of the family silver’ its own children know nothing about.
The real challenge was the one the Iron Lady ducked. It was never about dispensing with the key nationalised services. It was about learning to manage, motivate and mobilise them effectively and cost effectively. This does not appear to be a test for which Alex Salmond has the stomach either.
It is understood that Archie Robertson had fought a determined rearguard action in defence of Northlink’s bid for the Orkney and Shetland services; and disagreements have been reported between Mr Robertson and senior ministers over the future of the CalMac network.
This suggests that Mr Robertson’s shock resignation has come because he lost that argument against a determined, if lightweight, government position. He was unlikely to choose to appear to lead another undeserved failure.
Richard Baker, Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for Infrastructure and Capital Investment, says:
‘The sudden resignation of Archie Robertson as chief executive of CalMac raises huge questions for the SNP Government. It is clear ministers have played a key role in forcing Mr Robertson out and they must explain to parliament how this situation arose, creating huge instability for CalMac at a crucial time for the company and the communities it serves.
‘There have been serious allegations of undue pressure being put on CalMac by ministers, from Mike Russell in relation to the Gourock to Dunoon service, and from Keith Brown who is understood to have instructed the company not to appeal against the decision to award the Northlink contract to Serco.
‘The approach the SNP Government has taken to CalMac in recent months has raised fears that the Scottish Government is determined to privatise CalMac and will structure the tendering process accordingly. That is why these developments are so serious and why there needs to be clarity before the process develops further.
‘The SNP appear hell-bent on succeeding where the Tories failed – in breaking up and privatising CalMac. The silence of their own MSPs who represent west coast constituencies is deafening and it is clear that a campaign will have to be mounted by the communities themselves, and politicians willing to support them, in order to defend the CalMac network.’
In the case of what Mr Baker refers to as ‘the silence of their (the government’s) own MSPs who represent west coast constituencies’ it has to be noted that local MSP, Michael Russell, was shrill rather than silent in leading an almost pantomimic public bullying of Mr Robertson.
Mr Russell is also reliably said to have been less than silent in informing the members of the SNP-led coalition of Argyll and Bute Council of the government’s intentions for the west coast ferry services.
This was in an early session at a confidential administration away day on 11th August. The information passed with numerically little opposition.
When the matter becomes public, the Scottish Government are likely to find a suddenly reflective electorate, contemplating the departure of nurse and in fear of something substantially worse.
Mr Robertson’s resignation comes at a crucial time for ferry services in Scotland with the tendering process for the Clyde and Hebridean ferry routes due to take place next year. CalMac’s contract ends on 20th September 2013.
The disruption, from Mr Robertson’s effectively forced resignation and of the months of groundless, unchecked and quite shameful political bullying that that led up to it, leave CalMac in a less stable situation than is helpful for what is to come.
This is a company shortly to fight for its life by choosing a card from a stacked deck dealt from the hands of its own single shareholder – the Scottish Government.
With the new contract or contracts to come into operation on 21st September next year, a little over 12 months away from the Independence Referendum planned for October 2014, a less than perfect change to a new or to multiple new ferry operators will play badly at the ballot box.
For this reason the likelihood is another blatant Tammany Hall manoeuvre, similar to the postponement of the Gourock-Dunoon contract until after the 2011 Scottish Government election, seeing CalMac’s current contract extended for an appropriately convenient period.
A Scottish Government which already:
- does not feel Scotland can mount its own opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and has awarded the contract to a bland multinational;
- has not fought to retain the crucial Clyde and Forth coastguard stations at either end of its populous central belt – with all of the de-skilling that this involves in advance of a mooted independence;
- has already handed over the Northern Isles ferry services to an international private sector Westminster Government trusty;
- and which goes on to consolidate its lack of belief that Scotland can even run its own ferry services by taking the Clyde and Hebridean services to the same colonial offloading as NorthLink’s
is going to find it hard to show evidence of why it believes Scotland can thrive as an independent country.
If we cannot deliver services like this now, we are not going to be any more competent by October 2014 – and we’ll be two years out of practice in thinking we can.
Labour’s call for answers is well founded and well taken. Cue bluff and waffle?