A union has made a direct appeal to the deputy first minister to lift the ban on nuclear as fears grow over hundreds of jobs being lost and skilled workers leaving Scotland for overseas.

According to the Nuclear Industry Association some 315 jobs have already been lost over the five years to 2023 in Scotland.

GMB Scotland has taken action after Hunterston B nuclear power workers representative David Ferguson issued a warning to colleagues about the decline of nuclear and the loss of skills.

The Scottish Government, while ruled by an SNP-Green co-operation arrangement, has been steadfast in its opposition to nuclear, believing that it is not environmentally sustainable and "isn't required" while a climate target of reaching net zero by 2045 remains.

READ MORE: 'We're in danger of returning to the days of power cuts and candles'

And the First Minister has continued to reject nuclear since the end of the arrangement.

Net zero described a state where emissions of greenhouse gases due to human activities, and removals of these are in balance over a given period.

Now the union organiser Claire Greer has made a plea directly to Ms Forbes, who is also the economy secretary to end its opposition to the expansion of new nuclear energy in the wake of the SNP-Green co-operation arrangement ending.

She said: "It is crystal clear that nuclear must be a vital part of our energy mix in the pursuit of net zero. It is clean, stable and secure.

"It ensures our energy independence in an increasingly volatile world. And it produces high-skilled and well-paid jobs here in Scotland.

"I understand that the SNP has had a long-standing opposition to nuclear. This encompasses both nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. There is a world of difference between the two.

"When net zero is a priority for the Scottish Government and the country, continued ideological opposition to new nuclear is damaging to this aim and those workers and communities who benefit from the sector."

The union is concerned that the opposition to nuclear is also killing the potential to create thousands of new jobs.

She referenced the concerns of Mr Ferguson who has worked in nuclear power stations for ten years who issued a stern warning about the future of the industry to union colleagues.

The radiation worker who monitors radioactivity said that when Hunterston B was a running station, it employed around 650 people and when it went into defuelling it dropped to 420 and as they plant enters decommissioning it will drop to 240.

(Image: NQ)

He said: "I’ve watched as Hinkley C gets built and Sizewell C gets planned and the stability that brings to those areas as workers transition from station at the end of their life, to new stations.

"We could have been going through that transition in the west of Scotland with a Hunterston C, but sadly, for generations of workers on the west coast that is not to be because the Scottish Government opposes all new nuclear builds.

"A site [Hunterston] which for 60 years has provided thousands of jobs to the towns of Largs, West Kilbride, Saltcoats, Ardrossan and Stevenson. The skills here will be lost. Another industry gone and workers looking for new careers. Already, they are heading abroad to places like Abu Dhabi [the capital of the United Arab Emirates].

"With Hunterston A and B providing safe, reliable energy to the grid for 60 years, it has a proven track record for our industry and country. So it’s time for a change in the way the Scottish Government looks at the nuclear industry.

"There could have been a Hunterston C, a Torness B, and a mini reactor at Ardern. It's time for the Scottish Government to end its opposition to new evolving nuclear technology as part of our energy mix.

"If we are not careful, it will be back to the good old days of power cuts and candles."

In 2016 nuclear power stations provided 42.8% of the electricity produced in Scotland.

There were in 2019 two nuclear power stations in Scotland owned by French energy giant EDF that generated electricity: Hunterston B in Ayrshire which started generation in 1976 but shut down for the final time in 2022 after generating electricity for 46 years.

Torness in East Lothian which started up 1988 was proposed to cease operation in 2030 but is due to close in 2028 because of expected cracks found in the graphite bricks which make up the reactor cores.

There are three closed sites in Scotland that have been in the process of being decommissioned - Dounreay in Caithness; Hunterston A in Ayrshire and Chapelcross in Dumfries and Galloway.

The decommissioning of these sites is overseen and funded by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) which is a non-departmental public body set up under the Energy Act 2004.

Ms Greer invited Ms Forbes to meet nuclear reps at Hunterston B to "better understand the role nuclear can play in meeting net zero aims and achieving a meaningful just transition.

And she warned her: "Our members in energy have seen contract after contract in wind power go overseas. And with the continued opposition to new nuclear, so are the workers with the skills we need to achieve a just transition with many going to UAE. We are hollowing out our industrial and skills base.

"There can be no just transition without nuclear. Nuclear energy in Scotland means jobs in Scotland.

"Hunterston and Torness are both in a position to be expanded securing low carbon energy jobs. Whilst the Scottish Government continues to block any new nuclear, a ‘just transition’ will continue to be synonymous with redundancies, and opportunities will be missed alongside emission targets.

"The Scottish Government must lift the ban."

The First Minister said of the nuclear ban: "I respect the fact that people have a different opinion from me, but I am not a fan of the nuclear industry and I do not support investment in nuclear power plants. I never have and I never will. The country should focus on creating clean, green, renewable energy resources.

"We have a formidable track record of investment in Scotland and a formidable record of transformation in the generation of electricity in our country. What would help us is reform of the electricity market in the United Kingdom, which might result in people living in the areas that generate the electricity not having to pay exorbitant energy costs, which is the current procedure in the UK energy market."

A Scottish Government spokesman added: “The Scottish Government is embracing renewables, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage to drive economic growth, support green jobs and deliver secure, affordable and clean energy for Scotland.

“New nuclear power is expensive, will take years to become operational and involves significant environmental concerns."