CalMac defends island job claims

CalMac’s Managing Director, Robbie Drummond, has defended claims made by the ferry operating company’s CEO, David Makison that “the vast majority” of Cal Mac’s staff “live on islands out and about” on the ferry company’s network, after the comments came under fire during a meeting of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

The comments by Mr Makison came in an article in Holyrood magazine published in June on how ferry traffic had changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Mr Makison’s statements concerned the manner in which Cal Mac had responded and concluded that Cal Mac’s staff “share the same fears and concerns” over the pandemic, “as anyone else” who lives in the islands.

But at a meeting of the full council of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, held at the end of June, the Chair of the local authority’s Transportation and Infrastructure committee, Cllr Uisdean Robertson, cast doubt on Mr Makison’s claims over the levels of employment with Cal Mac in the islands.

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He said: “We constantly find ourselves being told how important it is to support island communities, with the latest example of such promotion being the article in the Holyrood magazine…”

“This magazine”, Cllr Robertson continued, “is pitched at influencers and decision-makers and if [Mr Makison’s] statements were to be believed this would suggest that most people employed to deliver the lifeline ferry services to the Western isles live between the Butt and Barra. This is something that we should challenge.”

“…With a changing demographic make-up of the Western Isles”, Cllr Robertson stated, “it is imperative that we maximise the potential number of economically active people living in the area.

“We must not stand aside and watch public bodies and companies centralise jobs from the islands that contribute to a pattern of depopulation, and we must strongly argue the case for the government to intervene.”

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Cllr Robertson also claimed at the full council meeting that a group of councillors from the Uists had recently used a Freedom of Information (FOI) enquiry to obtain figures “on how many jobs” Cal Mac and ferry and port infrastructure company, CMAL, “create in the Western Isles”, and Cllr Robertson added, “We also have a number of jobs that could be in the Western Isles.”

But, Cllr Roberston claimed, CMAL had “refused to provide a response” to the FOI request – a claim strongly denied by CMAL – and Cllr Robertson stated that “despite the matter being raised” with the Scottish Government’s Islands Minister: “we are still left in the dark…although [CMAL’s] annual reports suggest a four-fold increase in staff, all of which are based in Port Glasgow.”

“Worse still”, Cllr Robertson added in the meeting, “I noted a recent press story that CMAL were expanding their office in Port Glasgow to accommodate new staff. I am sure the Comahirle could identify a number of suitable offices in the Western Isles if more space is needed for new staff.”

Responding to the claims, Cal Mac’s Managing Director, Robbie Drummond said in a statement: “Cal Mac has more than 1400 staff, with 224 of these coming from the Outer Hebrides.

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“We have around 86 per-cent of our staff based around our network, including senior office staff and those in ports and on vessels, many of them local community members.

“In some of the smaller islands in the Western Isles, like Eriskay, we account for as much as one out of every nine jobs on the island.

“Given our experiences with remote working during the Covid-19 emergency”, Mr Drummond concluded, “it has demonstrated that back office roles can be based anywhere and that is something we will be looking at in the future as these roles come up.”

A CMAL spokesperson said: “We have previously been asked through the FOI process for an organisation chart and our three-year corporate plan, which includes a chart with job roles, has been referenced in responses.

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“We do not refuse to respond to FOI requests; due process is followed and detailed and timely responses are always issued, including details of exemptions and why particular information cannot be provided.

“CMAL is a small organisation with 35 employees. The number of roles and employees since the company was established in 2006 has grown from 7, reflecting the growth in the skills we require and the work we deliver for Scotland’s ferry and harbour infrastructure.

“We have one office, which is located in Port Glasgow in Inverclyde, and all our employees are based there. There is no requirement for the company to have multiple premises or offices – and it would not be cost effective to operate and manage several offices.”

CMAL’s spokesperson concluded: “As a team of multi-disciplinary professionals, a single office location offers the benefit of supporting the collaboration and team effort that our projects require. It is also important to note that many of our employees, especially our harbours engineers, spend a significant proportion of time in island communities right across the west coast of Scotland, as well as looking after our responsibilities for the Northern Isles Ferry Service in the north east of Scotland.”

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Comhairle nan Eilean Siar were asked for a copy of the responses to the councillors’ FOI request, but this has not been made available.

CalMac were also asked for a copy of the response they sent to the councillors but a spokesperson for the company stated: “It was a letter from Uisdean [Robertson] so I won’t be able to share it.”