HC Deb 02 February 1983 vol 36 cc282-3
2. Mr. Gordon Wilson

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will give financial help to retain manufacturing jobs in Dundee.

The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Alexander Fletcher)

The Government are providing massive financial help for Dundee. The city is part of a special development area attracting the highest rates of grant for industrial development, and the proposed Tayside enterprise zone may include sites in Dundee.

In addition, the Scottish Development Agency is contributing £24 million over three years to projects in Dundee to stimulate business development and attract high technology industries.

Mr. Wilson

The Minister has not mentioned the crisis at Timex. Is he aware that Dundee is to lose hundreds of manufacturing jobs with the phasing out of watch and camera manufacture? Is he aware that 11 million watches were imported into the United Kingdom in 1982, so there should be a market available? Furthermore, has he made any inquiries into the availability of work to sustain increased employment at Timex beyond that anticipated by the Timex corporation in its plans for Dundee?

Mr. Fletcher

I am aware of the difficulties that have been facing Timex in recent months and of the 1,900 redundancies that have been announced. My right hon. Friend and I have spent a great deal of time talking to the company, the work force, Mr. Fred Olsen, Mr. Clive Sinclair and others. The company is making every effort to continue a programme of diversification, particularly into electronics, so that the future of the Dundee factory may be assured.

Mr. Ernie Ross

Will the Minister take this opportunity to refute the suggestion by Graham Dowson, the vice-president of Nimslo, that the loss of the production of the 3-D camera at Dundee had something to do with the inability of the work force to produce the camera at the quality and production levels that were required?

Mr. Fletcher

I am aware of the remarks to which the hon. Gentleman is referring, but I see no benefit to Dundee in repeating what the Nimslo management is alleged to have said. What matters to Dundee is that existing customers are retained. Mr. Olsen and the management of Timex are confident that they can produce high-quality products at Dundee, as they have done for many years and look forward to doing in the future.

Mr. Bill Walker

Does my hon. Friend agree that the work force at Dundee has a reputation that it does not deserve, because, given the opportunity, it is hard-working? Does he further agree that it is unfortunate that trade union leaders and others sometimes make imprudent statements which give the impression that the work force is more militant than it is, and that that consequently has an adverse effect on potential investment?

Mr. Fletcher

There is no doubt that the events of the past few weeks have shown a readiness on the part of the work force at Dundee to try to clarify the situation, understand the problems, and do their utmost to ensure that the company will succeed.

Mr. Millan

In view of the magnificent record of the work force in turning out the Sinclair computer, why does the Minister not repudiate the unwarranted slur on the workers at the Timex factory? Are we to take it from the Minister's statement after his meeting with Mr. Olsen that he has given up all hope of recovering any of the 1,900 jobs? If he has, we have not. Lastly, when talking about Government aid being available in future, is the hon. Gentleman referring to specific projects which are in prospect, or is it simply a general statement of what might be available if something were to come along?

Mr. Fletcher

It is fairly obvious to all hon. Members that the market for mechanical watches has drastically reduced. That was the main Timex project at Dundee, and that is why there have been so many redundancies.

As to the future and electronics, the company has a number of projects in mind. When the company is ready to talk to us about the details of the projects, we shall be more than happy to advise on the amount of Government assistance that can be made available.