THE Scottish TUC women’s conference yesterday opposed the Scottish government’s decision to offer the Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) ferry service to the private sector.

Publicly owned CalMac’s contract for the service is coming to an end and the service has been put up for tender in accordance with EU rules.

But transport union TSSA delegate Lorna Deveaney slammed the Scottish governments’ attempts to claim the service is not a lifeline service and “deploy European Union regulations as an excuse to privatise the service.”

Ms Deveaney said the ferry service was an essential public service used by local people, particularly women, to get to hospital appointments, visit family and commute to work.

She warned that it was mostly female workers employed on the service, and that privatisation was a huge threat to their pay and conditions.

“CalMac should not under any circumstances be privatised,” she said.

RMT delegate Mary Jane Herbison slammed contract bidder Serco’s record on government contracts.

Ms Herbison said that the multimillion-pound profiteer had been banned from British government contracts while under investigation for serious fraud.

Serco has recently been fined £200,000 after a serious breach of health and safety led to the death of a worker on the Serco-run Woolwich ferry in 2011.

Ben Wollacott suffered serious head injuries after being dragged against the side of the ferry by a rope tangled in its propeller.

Ms Herbison called on the Scottish government to bring forward the tendering timetable for the services to allow for the winning bid to be declared before the Scottish Parliament elections next May.

zoestreatfield@peoples-press.com