First Tullis Russell Task Force Meeting

A task force which is aiming to re-employ hundreds of workers made redundant by Tullis Russell will meet today.

The group is made up of administrators KPMG, Fife Council, the Scottish Government and union representatives.

325 jobs were lost immediately when the firm collapsed on Monday, with 149 more to go once orders are completed.

Council Leader David Ross is telling us what they hope to achieve:

Meanwhile, a Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE) Redundancy Support Event will be held on Wednesday, 6 May 2015, from 10am-3pm, in the Balbirnie House Hotel, Markinch. Around 20 exhibitors will attend the event including a mix of support agencies, training providers, and employers who are interested in recruiting.

PACE is the Scottish Government’s initiative for responding to redundancy situations, it aims to minimise the time redundant staff are out of work through providing skills development and employability support.

Damien Yeates, Chief Executive of Skills Development Scotland, the organisation that leads the PACE initiative, said: 

“Redundancy is a stressful situation and many people do not know where to turn to in order to get the support they need. Through PACE, anyone facing job loss can access information in one place, from financial advice to help with applying for jobs.

“The PACE event will bring this support together and I would encourage workers from Tullis Russell to attend and take this opportunity to seek advice from all our partners.

"Redundancy information and advice is also available to anyone visiting any SDS centre in Fife.”

'Importance of local firms'

Fife Council's Depute Leader Lesley Laird, spokesperson for Economy and Planning, said the local authority's Economic Development team is "working closely" with at PACE and Business Gateway Fife on the event next week.

She added: "I hope as many employees as possible will attend to find out about potential employment, self-employment and training opportunities at the first, of what will be, a wider programme of events in the coming weeks.

“A visit yesterday gave us the opportunity to show Fergus Ewing MSP the important part companies like Brand Rex play to the local and national economy.

"Many Fife businesses are growing and expanding, the number of new business start-ups have increased and there are a lot of positive stories to tell about the regional economy.

"However, events of the last few weeks are a very clear reminder of just how fragile the wider economic recovery still is and why we cannot be complacent when it comes to pushing for economic development and opportunities to get more Fifer’s into work.

"The Minister’s visit has given us the chance to discuss first hand the priorities for the task force.

"Fife still has a diverse economy and I am confident that by all working together we can address the challenges we currently face and develop a stronger economic base going forward by ensuring more Fifer’s have the right skills and qualifications to sustain long term employment in the future.”