Babcock International has insisted workers will continue to be needed on site at its dockyards in Rosyth, Clyde and Devonport to support its ongoing defence programmes.
While many businesses are facing shutdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, Babcock has said is still very much in action – albeit with more stringent social distancing measures in place.
A spokesperson said: “Babcock has been working closely with the UK Government to confirm its requirement for ongoing support on the critical defence programmes required to sustain the safety and security of the country during the current COVID-19 crisis.
“The Government recognises that to ensure these vital programmes continue uninterrupted, a proportion of Babcock’s workforce need to continue to perform their roles on-site. In practice, this means that teams are needed at Devonport Royal Dockyard, HMNB Clyde and Rosyth to ensure the safe and secure delivery of these key priorities.
“The safety and wellbeing of our people is paramount. We are working closely with our customer to continue to deliver the support they need to keep critical services operational, whilst also working closely with our trade union colleagues implementing additional measures to ensure the safety of our employees and sites in line with Government policy.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to all our people, whether protecting colleagues by remaining at home, or continuing to work on on-site operations. The work we do is critically important and underpins the safety and security of the UK population.”
The statement comes after Babcock bosses revealed last week it had joined forces with a leading medical equipment company to design and supply thousands of critical care ventilators to the NHS.
