'Sinking ship' warning over county economy
That is the warning made this week by the GMB union which has accused the agencies responsible for getting work into the area of blowing "a lot of hot air over the last six years".
According to the union, these bodies need to act now or the far north "will become the new Ravenscraig” – the steelworks in Motherwell which closed in 1992 with the loss of thousands of jobs.
However, Eann Sinclair, programme manager for the Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership (CNSRP), yesterday said he is "puzzled and disappointed" by the union’s comments. He said real progress is being made in replacing the jobs being lost at Dounreay and stressed that millions of pounds have been invested in the area since 2008.
Derrick Milnes, who chairs the Thurso and Wick Trades Union Council, was also surprised by the claim.
He said the GMB is "out on a limb" and maintained it should have consulted with other union representatives before going public with its views.

"This has come out of the blue,” he stated. “The trades council works with the Dounreay Stakeholder Group, the CNSRP and other bodies for the benefit of the community. We have to work together to see if we can bring additional work to the area.
"A lot of business is coming into Caithness with the new schools and council offices and there has been investment in the Scrabster and Wick harbours, while the National Nuclear Archive is to be built in Wick at a cost of around £20 million.”
He spoke out after the GMB announced plans to lobby politicians and agencies to act before the Caithness economy becomes "a sinking ship".
The union also called on Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond to visit the area to see the problems it faces in replacing almost 1000 jobs and improving the infrastructure as the Dounreay site is decommissioned.
The GMB claims the agencies responsible for attracting jobs to the far north have "blown a lot of hot air over the past six years but all we have is positive talk about future possibilities”.
Bruce Crabtree, the GMB’s regional officer, said: “Caithness has waited six years for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) to make good on their commitment to build the National Nuclear Archive in Wick.
“The NDA have now announced that the archive is scheduled to open in 2016 at a cost of somewhere between £15m and £20m. It will employ approximately 20 people. Although these jobs are welcome they are only a drop in the ocean compared to the numbers who will find themselves unemployed in the coming years.
“Caithness is haemorrhaging its future to the oil and renewable industries as many of the younger workers are not prepared to wait for supposed possibilities to appear in the present economic environment.”
He pointed out the First Minister dubbed the Pentland Firth the “Saudi Arabia of the north” in a reference to the potential it offered in renewable energy jobs and the impact it could make on the local economy.
“In the future we may have something in common with deserts – desolation and sand from our crumbling buildings. Caithness needs the agencies to act now to bring in replacement work or the area will become the new Ravenscraig,” said Mr Crabtree.
But Mr Sinclair argued real progress has been made in the past six years and highlighted the £20m invested in phase one of the redevelopment of Scrabster, the £16m spent on the Engineering Technology & Energy Centre and Centre for Energy & the Environment plus the £2.3m on Make the Right Connections skills transition project.
“A key underlying point is that since 2008 businesses in the area have committed to creating or retaining over 700 full-time equivalent jobs,” he added.
“The CNSRP partners continue to focus on priority projects, including Wick and Scrabster harbour developments, and continue to pursue inward investment opportunities.”