Assurances given over Dounreay jobs fears
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Jobs at Dounreay are not at risk from a restructuring of its parent body, the site's community liaison group has been told.
Deputy managing director Mac MacGill said neither the revamp nor the new lifetime plan for the former reactor complex will impact on current employment levels.
He was responding to concern raised by Dounreay Stakeholder Group (DSG) vice-chairman David Alexander.
Speaking at last week's meeting, Mr Alexander said he is aware of fears that corporate jobs at Dounreay could be under threat from the restructuring of Magnox Ltd.
He said: "We've been led to believe that joining a large organisation like Magnox could lead to casualties. What are the consequences going to be?"
Mr MacGill replied: "We're in the process of making sure we manage this well.
"Our lifetime plan shows we will require the same number of staff that we have at the moment, though there might be a requirement for individual members of staff to move into other areas."
Dounreay managing director Mark Rouse, who sits on Magnox's executive, echoed Mr MacGill's comments.
"It's wrong to see this in one direction," he said. "Dounreay is an important, very capable part of this organisation and they need us to be successful."
Mr Rouse believed Dounreay is benefiting from being part of Magnox, itself a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Former Highland councillor Gillian Coghill, who chairs DSG's site restoration sub-group, questioned whether the pace of the clean-up at Dounreay is being hit by the impact of inflation and pay increases.
Mr MacGill replied: "We're not dissimilar to other businesses and we're going to have to do our housekeeping wisely.
"We know our future programme will have to be more effective and efficient. We need to spend our money well."
He said Dounreay remains a priority site in terms of the allocation of resources from the NDA.
