Workers walk off fabrication site over alleged non-payment of staff

Workers said they were ‘standing in solidarity’ with subcontractors who they allege have not been paid by site managers.

Hundreds of workers had walked off the job at a fabrication yard in Fife over a dispute surrounding the non-payment of subcontractors, a union has said.

Members of the GMB union said InfraStrata, which manages the site in Methil under its Harland & Wolff brand, failed to pay more than 100 Portuguese workers building renewable energy components.

The sub-contractor managing the staff, Santa Cruz, ordered employees to sit in cabins until payment was made.

However, core staff joined them in a walkout after no wage packets were forthcoming following two days of non-working.

The site is currently building eight turbine jackets for the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm off the coast of Fife at a cost of £1.4bn.

InfraStrata purchased the former Burntisland Fabrication site in 2021 alongside a sister facility on Lewis.

GMB Scotland organiser Dominic Pritchard said: “This is the kind of behaviour you would expect from a cowboy contractor.

According to the GMB, around 200 workers walked off the job at Methil, more than half of those, around 120, are thought to be Portuguese sub-contractors.

In a statement, Harland and Wolff said that “for the avoidance of doubt”, the local workforce have been paid on time and “continue to be paid in line” with their contracts.

It is understood that a lack of movement on union representation was also a factor behind the industrial action.

GMB Scotland said: “All staff have now returned to work and will face no disciplinary action or loss of pay.

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