NORWICH UNION is to bring 150 new jobs to Perth, it was revealed yesterday, writes Eric Nicolson.

The insurance giant will soon be recruiting for the jobs at its Pitheavlis base and, in so doing, will buck the trend of job losses there over recent years.

This will go some way to offsetting the 200 customer service posts cut from the 1600-strong workforce in September.

The new positions will be created in Norwich Union’s corporate partnership business.

Yesterday’s news was broken after local politicians Roseanna Cunningham MSP and Pete Wishart MP met company senior management.

Ms Cunningham said last night, “We had not been anticipating this news when we met with Norwich Union bosses this morning but we were absolutely delighted to learn that around 150 new jobs are to be created in Perth as part of an expansion of Norwich Union’s corporate partnership business.

“I have given Norwich Union some stick in recent months but they certainly quoted me happy this morning.

“Norwich Union is an extremely important employer for Perth and for the whole of Tayside so this is great news.

“The jobs won’t all come at once so local people who are interested should keep an eye out for the job adverts.”

Mr Wishart added, “Perth is a great place to do business and I am extremely pleased that the relationship between Perth and the insurance industry is once more on an upward curve.”

Confirming the new jobs, a Norwich Union spokeswoman said, “There will be around 150 new jobs in the near future in the corporate partnership business which is effectively building societies and banks. They will be customer service and sales jobs.

“We are delighted to announce these jobs, and it is obviously good news for Perth.”