UNITE has welcomed a £4 million Scottish government furlough scheme which could secure workers’ future at Alexander Dennis’s Falkirk plant.

The bus manufacturer announced in September plans to consolidate operations in Scarborough, plunging 400 jobs at its Falkirk site into jeopardy and delivering a hammer blow to a community already reeling from the closure of the nearby Grangemouth oil refinery.

Alexander Dennis president and managing director Paul Davies said earlier in the year that only orders of between 70 to 100 buses by the end of this year and 300-400 in the next could save the site, as the Unite union battled for companies — private and public — to favour domestic production of new electric buses rather than sending business and jobs elsewhere.

First Minister John Swinney announced that the Scottish government will cover 80 per cent of workers’ wages for six months in a “bridge to future,” allowing the battle for orders to continue.

Mr Swinney said: “I gave the company a commitment back in May that we would leave no stone unturned in finding a way through this with the company if they remain committed to manufacturing here in central Scotland.

“The company has demonstrated that commitment.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham hailed the announcement as a “very positive development,” while industrial officer Pat Egan added: “Unite has gone the extra mile to ensure that Alexander Dennis retains a bus manufacturing capacity in Scotland because these jobs are absolutely essential to the green economy.

“Unite from the outset has pushed hard for a furlough scheme backed by government which could be used while new orders are secured for Falkirk and Larbert.

“The First Minister’s announcement is a significant step forward in the fight to save hundreds of highly skilled jobs.”