Last month saw over 130 trade unionists, environmentalists and members of the Fife community come together to demand answers from EDF.  EDF failed to attend, sparking disappointment and anger within the community, environmentalists and wider trade union movement.  However, attendees also expressed their joy at seeing so many from their community come together united in a common cause.

We spoke to two community members who attended the meeting.

Allen Armstrong, from Levenmouth Rail Campaign, a local campaign to reopen the railway track, gave his take on the meeting:

“Representing the Levenmouth Rail Campaign (LMRC) and local regeneration charity CLEAR, several of us turned up at the Fife for Renewal event around the corner in Buckhaven Community Centre. We witnessed an impressively large turnout especially for a community that has become disadvantaged, disempowered and sometimes apathetic.  It was great to see the wide range of organisations involved – not only STUC and Unions, but community groups and councils, environmental activists as well as individuals.

What struck me was the wider issue this campaign focuses on.  It is not only demanding work be brought here to Fife. It is mere common sense, in terms of social justice as well as economic and environmental efficiency, that the local yards should command a major share of the work for the offshore windfarm only 12 miles away (as opposed to Indonesia over 7,000 miles away).

I happened to be away on a work assignment in Indonesia back in January and they need work there too, but it makes sense to have their own turbines and manufacture them locally.  We need to ensure environmental and local economic concerns go hand-in-hand, and the consuming public also deserve to pay a fair price and receive at least some economic benefit from large scale renewable technology now being established.

Calls for a united front to bring work to Bifab also need to reflect the need to support Levenmouth’s reconnection to the rest of Scotland. The Levenmouth Rail Campaign has been battling for 5 years to reopen another mothballed environmental and economic asset in this area – 5 miles of track between Leven and the mainline currently owned by Network Rail.  Future Bifab workers need to travel to work and reopening the rail-link will bring job and education opportunities to the people of Levenmouth currently left out on a limb.  This decision lies entirely in the hands of the Scottish Government.

We can only hope sense and justice prevail and wait to see what happens next with both campaigns.”

Michelle Ratcliffe, Chair of Buckhaven Community Council stated:

“I was proud to stand strong with fellow community members, business owners and representatives from all political parties. We stood in solidarity and proved that we will not go down without a fight. Our Communities matter, our families matter, we matter.

We find it shameful, disrespectful and insulting that no one came to represent EDF to engage with us and give us answers. However we will not let it end there.

We do not appreciate being lied to and we certainly do not appreciate our energy bills rising to pay for work being shipped half way around the world when they could be built on our doorstep.

We deserve explanations and we want answers. We are tired of being side-lined and short changed. Our communities will show solidarity once more when we visit their HQ in Edinburgh on Friday the 5th July.”

Friday the 5th of July will see trade unionists, Fife community members, energy workers and environmentalists gather outside of the offices of EDF in Edinburgh.  EDF refused to come to the community, so we are bringing the community to them.  For more details, click here.