WORKERS at Ferguson Marine have breathed a sigh of relief after the Scottish Government took control of the Port Glasgow shipyard, safeguarding around 300 jobs.

Scottish finance and economy secretary Derek Mackay met with staff and union officials yesterday as nationalisation of the troubled Newark facility was rubber-stamped.

The future of the yard - and around 300 staff - was in jeopardy because of a row over the completion of a £97 million CalMac ferry contract.

Shop steward John McMunagle, joint-convener of the GMB union at Ferguson's, said: "Around 300 jobs have been saved thanks to the government intervening. "The workers have all gone home happy. In fact, most have gone to the pub."

It is just five years since wealthy industrialist Jim McColl, through his firm Clyde Blowers Capital, saved Ferguson's from administration and sparked a £25m redevelopment of the facilities.

Big things were promised but a bitter row with government-owned Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL), which placed the order for CalMac vessels MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802, as it is currently know, nearly sunk the business once again.

A dispute over the extent of design changes means the vessels are now 17 and 23 months late, respectively, and expected to cost double the original £97m contract price.

Mr McMunagle, from Greenock, said: "There's a sense of relief and a feeling of frustration because if we got by the two ferries it would have led to a bigger enterprise and 500-600 jobs. "But the at the same time, we've managed to secure the future of the yard. "Derek Mackay said it's not short-term, it's very much long-term.

"For everything that happened and the failure to deliver the ferries, the relationship with the management remained and they behaved very honourably.

"They gave us everything we were due and supported us as trade unionists so it's sad to see them go."

Fellow shop steward, Alex Logan, has worked at the yard for decades, with his brother and son also employed there.

Mr Logan, from Port Glasgow, said: "It's great that it's over and done with now. "Although Mr McColl said he had a strategy, nothing was being sorted and he wasn't prepared to put any more money in. "Derek Mackay said from the very start that he had our backs and would make sure the boats were finished and the yard has a future. "He's now come back and guaranteed that."

Administrators Deloitte have actually been appointed to run the business in the short-term and to find a buyer over the next four weeks.

If that fails to materialise, the Scottish Government will acquire the company.

Mr Mackay said: "We have always been clear that we want to complete the vessels, secure jobs and give the yard a future.

"Public control will provide much-needed continuity of employment now and ensure the completion of the CMAL ferry contracts at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer."

It brings an end to a dispute stretching back two years.

A 'turnaround director' and a new management team has now been appointed to plot a new course for Ferguson's.

Gary Cook, GMB Scotland organiser and chair of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions in Scotland, said: "Nationalisation secures the immediate future of the yard and that is a very welcome development, particularly after all the recent uncertainty.

"Our members were caught in the middle of a situation that had nothing to do with them and their relief will be palpable."

The deal was also welcomed by trade union Unite.

Scottish Secretary Pat Rafferty said: "It's clear at this stage that nationalisation was the only serious option on the table to save the yard and 300 highly-skilled jobs.

"The yard can have a very successful future and we must all now play our part to make sure this happens."

Inverclyde Council leader Stephen McCabe, who held crisis talks with senior figures from Ferguson's and the government in tandem with opposition leader Chris McEleny, says the rescue deal is a huge relief for the whole of Scotland.

Councillor McCabe said: "The highly-skilled and experienced workforce, as well as the yard itself, should be viewed as a national asset. "The Scottish Government has our support over bringing the yard under public control if it is committed to ensuring the continued success of the business not just in an Inverclyde context or to deliver the current ferry contracts but as a long term part of our country's industrial and marine strategies."

Councillor McEleny now wants the government to make Ferguson's the hub for renewing the entire ageing CalMac fleet over the next quarter of a century - and for the reinstatement of 50 agency workers who were pulled from the yard due to the uncertainty over its future.

He said: "I would call on the Scottish Government to publish a 25-year plan for the renewal of the 60 vessels in public ownership, work that must be the foundations of the long-term security and growth of Ferguson's."