FERRY FIASCO: Shipyard chairman defends £87k bonuses to senior staff as ‘retention payments’
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The chairman of the shipyard
The chairman of the shipyard building two new lifeline ferries that are years late and three times overbudget has defended bonus payments to senior staff.
Andrew Miller, chairman at Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), described the bonuses – which saw six senior members of staff awarded a total of £87,000 in 2021-22 – as “retention payments”.
Questioned by MSPs investigating why the building of the two new CalMac ferries at the shipyard has gone over time and over budget, he claimed that without such payments “the future of Ferguson Marine yard is at risk”.
The two vessels, the Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802, are now not due to be completed until the end of 2023 and the end of 2024 respectively.
Build costs for the ferries, which CalMac plans to use on its Clyde and Hebridean services, have risen from £97 million to about £300 million.
Then deputy first minister John Swinney branded the bonus payments – which were made without Scottish Government knowledge despite ministers having taken the yard into public ownership in 2019 – as “reprehensible”.
But Mr Miller defended the payments when he appeared before MSPs on Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee on Thursday.
With the shipyard operating in a “highly competitive market”, the chairman said: “It’s very important we find the talent for the senior management, it is also very important we retain the talent for the senior management, in terms of completing our journey towards eventual profitability in our five-year plan. That is all very important to achieve.
“We’ve got to be competitive.
“I don’t understand the narrative around the word bonus. These are retention payments.
“If these elements are removed, without being competitive, the future of Ferguson Marine yard is at risk.”
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Andrew Miller, chairman at Ferguson Marine Port Glasgow (FMPG), described the bonuses – which saw six senior members of staff awarded a total of £87,000 in 2021-22 – as “retention payments”.
Questioned by MSPs investigating why the building of the two new CalMac ferries at the shipyard has gone over time and over budget, he claimed that without such payments “the future of Ferguson Marine yard is at risk”.
The two vessels, the Glen Sannox and the as-yet-unnamed hull 802, are now not due to be completed until the end of 2023 and the end of 2024 respectively.
Build costs for the ferries, which CalMac plans to use on its Clyde and Hebridean services, have risen from £97 million to about £300 million.
Then deputy first minister John Swinney branded the bonus payments – which were made without Scottish Government knowledge despite ministers having taken the yard into public ownership in 2019 – as “reprehensible”.
But Mr Miller defended the payments when he appeared before MSPs on Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee on Thursday.
With the shipyard operating in a “highly competitive market”, the chairman said: “It’s very important we find the talent for the senior management, it is also very important we retain the talent for the senior management, in terms of completing our journey towards eventual profitability in our five-year plan. That is all very important to achieve.
“We’ve got to be competitive.
“I don’t understand the narrative around the word bonus. These are retention payments.
“If these elements are removed, without being competitive, the future of Ferguson Marine yard is at risk.”
Become a Scottish Sun Subscriber and hit the bell to be the first to know
Read The Sun: http://www.theScottishsun.co.uk
Like The Sun on Facebook: Facebook: thescottishsun
Follow The Sun on Twitter: Twitter: ScottishSun
#ferryfiasco #politics #snp
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