The Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack, has been described as "callous and stupid" for dismissing workers and communities concerns.

Responding to the statement by Alister Jack that offshore wind turbines being built in Indonesia for Scottish sites is 'the market economy at work', Scottish Trade Union Council (STUC) General Secretary Grahame Smith said: "Offshore wind is subsidised by Scottish energy users through their fuel bills, even as hundreds of thousand live in fuel poverty. Meanwhile workers in Scotland's fabrication yards are losing out on work that is being shipped from tax-free zones in Indonesia.

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"It is both callous and stupid to brush away concerns from workers and local communities with a blasé reference to the market economy. Markets don't just happen, they are created and regulated by Government and they need Government intervention to function effectively.

"Alister is a long way off message. At a recent offshore wind summit organised by the Scottish Government, Westminster officials claimed to be committed to creating more work in local supply chains through Contracts for Difference. I suspect that more than a few of Alister's colleagues will be less than happy with his response and the STUC will seek urgent clarification as to whether his indifference to local jobs and a Just Transition to a low carbon economy is a personal view or that of the UK Government."

(MH/CM)