A TASKFORCE set up by the Scottish Government has met for the fourth time to hammer out plans for the future of Tullis Russell paper mill, which went into administration with the loss of hundreds of jobs, and to discuss how a £6 million lifeline is going to be spent on boosting the Fife economy.
The Fife Taskforce, co-chaired by Deputy First Minister John Swinney and Fife Council leader David Ross, was held to agree the detail of the next phase of action that will support economic growth and job creation across Glenrothes and central Fife.
The meeting put down an action plan, which includes support for the workforce, local business growth, community regeneration, business infrastructure and investment, and the future use of employee-owned Tullis Russell site in Markinch.
The government said that out of the 403 employees who were made redundant in April, 143 have found new jobs while 286 have asked for training from a new support agency, and of these, 142 people have had their requests granted.
Opportunities Fife was set up to encourage those who have been affected to seek training and support, and the focus of the taskforce meeting was on supporting the remaining workforce who are still looking for help.
After the meeting, Swinney and Ross issued a joint statement: “We want to make sure that we collectively do everything possible to help those most affected in a rapid, accessible and effective way, and we will make sure this continues to be done.
“We are confident that the agreed allocation and distribution of the £6m Scottish Government funding will target the right places and reach the right people.
“While we were all disappointed that the intensive process to find an alternative buyer for Tullis Russell was not successful, we were heartened to hear about the support that has been delivered to the workforce.
“We should like to recognise the efforts not only of the public sector agencies involved but also of the private sector which has also done all it can to help offer jobs and opportunities to those made redundant.
“Our focus is on actions that continue to support people, business and communities affected.
“The initiatives set out in our Action Plan will help deliver economic growth in Glenrothes and Central Fife. Delivering against these actions is now key for us over the months ahead.”
The taskforce decided that from the Government’s initial £6m pot of cash, £1.5m will go towards workforce support for training, £2m will be plunged into supporting business growth, business infrastructure and investment will get £2.5m and £250,000 will go into community regeneration.
Tullis Russell Papermakers called in joint administrators Blair Nimmo and Tony Friar of KPMG after experiencing a long-term decline in its market and announcing cumulative losses of £18.5m over the last five years.
They concluded there was no option other than to reduce the size of the workforce, which led to the majority of employees being made redundant “with immediate effect”. Approximately one-third of the workforce stayed on to complete some orders.
Union bosses said it was outraged that the jobs blow comes just weeks after a new £200m combined heat and power (CHP) biomass plant was opened on the site with promises from their bosses and Energy Minister Fergus Ewing that it would safeguard 500 jobs.
Unite union regional officer Douglas Maguire, who attended the fourth taskforce meeting, said: “I asked who would pay for the decontamination of the site given that there was over 200 years of industrial use on the site and that there was a mothballed power station full of asbestos to be dealt with.
“A representative of Tullis Russell agreed that the TR group would pick up the bill for this work. It was agreed that SEPA and Scottish Water would be asked to carry out an assessment of the site.”
Earlier Swinney said: “This is a very anxious time for the workers at Tullis Russell, their families and the wider community across Fife. Particularly in a small town the size of Markinch, the potential impact of these job losses cannot be underestimated”.
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