Upper Clyde Shipbuilders
Encyclopedia
Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) was a British shipbuilding
consortium
created in 1968 as a result of the amalgamation of five major shipbuilders of the River Clyde
in Scotland. It entered liquidation
amidst much controversy in 1971, leading to a famous "work-in
" campaign at the company's shipyard
s, led by a number of shop stewards, including Jimmy Airlie
and Jimmy Reid
.
in Govan
(Govan Division), Alexander Stephens and Sons in Linthouse
(Linthouse Division), Charles Connell and Company
in Scotstoun
(Scotstoun Division) and John Brown and Company at Clydebank
(Clydebank Division), as well as an associate subsidiary, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, in which UCS held a controlling stake of 51%.
This consolidation came about as a result of Geddes Report, published in 1966 and the subsequent Shipbuilding Industry Act 1967, sponsored by the Ministry of Technology
under Wedgewood Benn, which recommended rationalisation and horizontal integration
of shipbuilding in the United Kingdom into large regional groups, aided with grants from the state Shipbuilding Industry Board, in order to achieve economies of scale
and better compete in the market for increasingly large merchant vessel
s like VLCCs. The creation of these groupings included Scott Lithgow
on the Lower Clyde, Swan Hunter
on Tyneside
and Robb Caledon
on the east coast of Scotland. The government had a 48.4% minority holding in the consortium and provided a £5.5m interest free government loan over the first three years. UCS had a combined order book at the time worth £87m.
, the then Conservative
government under Edward Heath
and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, John Davies
, announced a policy that refused further state-support for "lame duck" industries, which led to a crisis of confidence amongst UCS creditors and resulted in severe cash flow
problems for the company. After the government refused UCS a £6m working capital
loan as a lender of last resort
, the company was forced to enter liquidation, despite the yards having a full orderbook and a forecasted profit in 1972.
" and complete the orders that the shipyards had in place. In this way they dispelled the idea of the workers being 'work-shy' and also wanted to illustrate the long-term viability of the yards and the Right to work
.
The work-in was led by a group of young shop stewards, including Jimmy Reid
, Jimmy Airlie
, Sammy Gilmore and Sammy Barr all of whom were then members of the Communist Party of Great Britain
. Reid wanted to ensure the workers projected the best image of the yard workers he possibly could, and insisted on tight discipline. He famously addressed the workers at the yards where he instructed them that there should be "no hooliganism, no vandalism and no bevvying (drinking)".
area and beyond was on the side of the workers who took part. This was backed up with demonstrations in Glasgow, one of which was attended by around 80,000 marchers. At one demonstration, on Glasgow Green
, Tony Benn
addressed those in attendance, and Matt McGinn
and Billy Connolly
(both former shipyard workers) offered entertainment to the gathered crowd. The campaign was also well backed financially, and at one meeting for the campaign Jimmy Reid was able to announce that the campaign had received a £5,000 contribution from John Lennon
, to which an attendee replied "but Lenin's
deid! (dead)".
was established (formerly Fairfields) along with its subsidiary Scotstoun Marine Ltd
(formerly Connells), Yarrow Shipbuilders
had already withdrawn from UCS in April 1970 and regained its status as an independent company (until 1977, when it was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders
, along with Govan Shipbuilders). A fourth yard at Clydebank (formerly John Brown) was sold to Marathon Oil
, which eventually closed in 2001. The former Alexander Stephens and Sons yard at Linthouse was closed in 1972 after the liquidation of UCS.
Two major shipyards on the Upper Clyde (the former Yarrow and Fairfields yards) remain in operation: as BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by the defence contractor BAE Systems
, focusing principally upon the design and construction of technologically advanced warships for the Royal Navy
and other navies around the world.
Some commentators have remarked though that the work-in was hugely successful in the short-term at halting the laissez-faire
, free-market ideas that many in the then Conservative
government wanted to implement, the later Thatcher
Conservative government would be far more reaching in its attempts to remove state involvement in industrial affairs.
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
consortium
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
created in 1968 as a result of the amalgamation of five major shipbuilders of the River Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
in Scotland. It entered liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
amidst much controversy in 1971, leading to a famous "work-in
Work-in
A work-in is a form of direct action, where a group of workers whose jobs are under threat resolve to remain in their place of employment and continue producing without pay...
" campaign at the company's shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s, led by a number of shop stewards, including Jimmy Airlie
Jimmy Airlie
Jimmy Airlie was a leading Scottish trade unionist. While a shop steward, along with Jimmy Reid he was particularly remembered for his role as convenor of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in of 1971....
and Jimmy Reid
Jimmy Reid
James "Jimmy" Reid was a Scottish trade union activist, orator, politician, and journalist born in Govan, Glasgow. His role as spokesman and one of the leaders in the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in between June 1971 and October 1972 attracted international recognition...
.
Formation
The Company was formed in February 1968 from the amalgamation of five major Upper Clyde Shipbuilding firms: FairfieldsFairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
The Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company in the Govan area on the Clyde in Glasgow. Fairfields, as it is often known, was a major warship builder, turning out many vessels for the Royal Navy and other navies through the First World War and the...
in Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
(Govan Division), Alexander Stephens and Sons in Linthouse
Linthouse
Linthouse is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde. It is immediately west of Govan, and although it is often referred to locally as 'Govan' due to its closeness, it is in fact a distinct area .Linthouse was home to the shipbuilder...
(Linthouse Division), Charles Connell and Company
Charles Connell and Company
Charles Connell and Company was a British shipbuilding company based in Scotstoun in Glasgow on the River Clyde.-History:The Company was founded by Charles Connell who had served an apprenticeship with Robert Steele and Co before becoming manager of Alexander Stephen and Sons Kelvinhaugh yard...
in Scotstoun
Scotstoun
Scotstoun is a historic district of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Yoker and Knightswood to the west, Victoria Park, Broomhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde to the south...
(Scotstoun Division) and John Brown and Company at Clydebank
Clydebank
Clydebank is a town in West Dunbartonshire, in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated on the north bank of the River Clyde, Clydebank borders Dumbarton, the town with which it was combined to form West Dunbartonshire, as well as the town of Milngavie in East Dunbartonshire, and the Yoker and...
(Clydebank Division), as well as an associate subsidiary, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, in which UCS held a controlling stake of 51%.
This consolidation came about as a result of Geddes Report, published in 1966 and the subsequent Shipbuilding Industry Act 1967, sponsored by the Ministry of Technology
Minister of Technology
The Minister of Technology was a position in the government of the United Kingdom, sometimes abbreviated as "MinTech". The Ministry of Technology was established by the incoming government of Harold Wilson in October 1964 as part of Wilson's ambition to modernise the state for what he perceived to...
under Wedgewood Benn, which recommended rationalisation and horizontal integration
Horizontal integration
In microeconomics and strategic management, the term horizontal integration describes a type of ownership and control. It is a strategy used by a business or corporation that seeks to sell a type of product in numerous markets...
of shipbuilding in the United Kingdom into large regional groups, aided with grants from the state Shipbuilding Industry Board, in order to achieve economies of scale
Economies of scale
Economies of scale, in microeconomics, refers to the cost advantages that an enterprise obtains due to expansion. There are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increased. "Economies of scale" is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit...
and better compete in the market for increasingly large merchant vessel
Merchant vessel
A merchant vessel is a ship that transports cargo or passengers. The closely related term commercial vessel is defined by the United States Coast Guard as any vessel engaged in commercial trade or that carries passengers for hire...
s like VLCCs. The creation of these groupings included Scott Lithgow
Scott Lithgow
-History:The Company was formed in 1967 by the merger of Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company and Lithgows. Scott Lithgow was based in Port Glasgow and Greenock on the lower Clyde in Scotland. Scott Lithgow was nationalised and subsumed into British Shipbuilders in 1977...
on the Lower Clyde, Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter
Swan Hunter, formerly known as "Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson", was one of the best known shipbuilding companies in the world. Based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, the company was responsible for some of the greatest ships of the early 20th century — most famously, the RMS Mauretania which...
on Tyneside
Tyneside
Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...
and Robb Caledon
Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company
The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company, Limited was a British shipbuilding company based in Dundee on the east coast of Scotland.-History:...
on the east coast of Scotland. The government had a 48.4% minority holding in the consortium and provided a £5.5m interest free government loan over the first three years. UCS had a combined order book at the time worth £87m.
Collapse of UCS
In June 1971 the loss-making Upper Clyde Shipbuilders went into receivership (only one yard of the five, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, remained profitable and had left the joint venture in April 1970). In February 1971, in the wake of the emergency nationalisation of Rolls-Royce LimitedRolls-Royce Limited
Rolls-Royce Limited was a renowned British car and, from 1914 on, aero-engine manufacturing company founded by Charles Stewart Rolls and Henry Royce on 15 March 1906 as the result of a partnership formed in 1904....
, the then Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government under Edward Heath
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, John Davies
John Davies (businessman)
John Emerson Harding Harding-Davies, MBE, PC was a successful British businessman who served as Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry during the 1960s...
, announced a policy that refused further state-support for "lame duck" industries, which led to a crisis of confidence amongst UCS creditors and resulted in severe cash flow
Cash flow
Cash flow is the movement of money into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It is usually measured during a specified, finite period of time. Measurement of cash flow can be used for calculating other parameters that give information on a company's value and situation.Cash flow...
problems for the company. After the government refused UCS a £6m working capital
Working capital
Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...
loan as a lender of last resort
Lender of last resort
A lender of last resort is an institution willing to extend credit when no one else will. The term refers especially to a reserve financial institution, most often the central bank of a country, intended to avoid bankruptcy of banks or other institutions deemed systemically important or 'too big to...
, the company was forced to enter liquidation, despite the yards having a full orderbook and a forecasted profit in 1972.
Union strategy
Rather than go on strike, which was the traditional form of industrial action, the union leadership decided to have a "work-inWork-in
A work-in is a form of direct action, where a group of workers whose jobs are under threat resolve to remain in their place of employment and continue producing without pay...
" and complete the orders that the shipyards had in place. In this way they dispelled the idea of the workers being 'work-shy' and also wanted to illustrate the long-term viability of the yards and the Right to work
Right to work
The right to work is the concept that people have a human right to work, or engage in productive employment, and may not be prevented from doing so...
.
The work-in was led by a group of young shop stewards, including Jimmy Reid
Jimmy Reid
James "Jimmy" Reid was a Scottish trade union activist, orator, politician, and journalist born in Govan, Glasgow. His role as spokesman and one of the leaders in the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Work-in between June 1971 and October 1972 attracted international recognition...
, Jimmy Airlie
Jimmy Airlie
Jimmy Airlie was a leading Scottish trade unionist. While a shop steward, along with Jimmy Reid he was particularly remembered for his role as convenor of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders work-in of 1971....
, Sammy Gilmore and Sammy Barr all of whom were then members of the Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
. Reid wanted to ensure the workers projected the best image of the yard workers he possibly could, and insisted on tight discipline. He famously addressed the workers at the yards where he instructed them that there should be "no hooliganism, no vandalism and no bevvying (drinking)".
Support
The shipbuilders' tactics worked and public sympathy in the GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
area and beyond was on the side of the workers who took part. This was backed up with demonstrations in Glasgow, one of which was attended by around 80,000 marchers. At one demonstration, on Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park situated in the east end of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde. It is the oldest park in the city dating back to the 15th century.In 1450, King James II granted the land to Bishop William Turnbull and the people of Glasgow...
, Tony Benn
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
addressed those in attendance, and Matt McGinn
Matt McGinn
Matt McGinn was a Scottish folk singer-songwriter and poet.Matthew McGinn was born in Ross Street at the corner of the Gallowgate in Calton, Glasgow in 1928, one of a family of nine. At the age of 12 he was sent to an approved school for two years...
and Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...
(both former shipyard workers) offered entertainment to the gathered crowd. The campaign was also well backed financially, and at one meeting for the campaign Jimmy Reid was able to announce that the campaign had received a £5,000 contribution from John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
, to which an attendee replied "but Lenin's
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
deid! (dead)".
Aftermath
In February 1972 Heath's government relented and restructured the yards around two new companies: Govan ShipbuildersGovan Shipbuilders
Govan Shipbuilders Ltd was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located.-History:...
was established (formerly Fairfields) along with its subsidiary Scotstoun Marine Ltd
Scotstoun Marine Ltd
Scotstoun Marine Ltd was a shipbuilding company in Glasgow, Scotland, on the River Clyde, formed in 1972 to operate the former shipyard of Charles Connell and Company following the collapse of Upper Clyde Shipbuilders into which it had been amlgamated. Scotstoun Marine Ltd operated as a subsidiary...
(formerly Connells), Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Shipbuilders
Yarrow Limited , often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde...
had already withdrawn from UCS in April 1970 and regained its status as an independent company (until 1977, when it was nationalised as part of British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders
British Shipbuilders Corporation was a public corporation that owned and managed the shipbuilding industry in England and Scotland from 1977 and through the 1980s...
, along with Govan Shipbuilders). A fourth yard at Clydebank (formerly John Brown) was sold to Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Canada. Principal development activities are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway,...
, which eventually closed in 2001. The former Alexander Stephens and Sons yard at Linthouse was closed in 1972 after the liquidation of UCS.
Two major shipyards on the Upper Clyde (the former Yarrow and Fairfields yards) remain in operation: as BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by the defence contractor BAE Systems
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
, focusing principally upon the design and construction of technologically advanced warships for the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and other navies around the world.
Some commentators have remarked though that the work-in was hugely successful in the short-term at halting the laissez-faire
Laissez-faire
In economics, laissez-faire describes an environment in which transactions between private parties are free from state intervention, including restrictive regulations, taxes, tariffs and enforced monopolies....
, free-market ideas that many in the then Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government wanted to implement, the later Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
Conservative government would be far more reaching in its attempts to remove state involvement in industrial affairs.