WILLIAM Waldegrave, Britain鈥檚 agriculture minister, will decide this week whether to close the Torry Research Station, which monitors food safety in Scotland. As many as 100 jobs could go if Waldegrave decides to axe the 65-year-old laboratory at Aberdeen.
Some posts may be relocated to York as part of a reorganisation of the Central Science Laboratory (CSL), the agency that merged with the Torry Research Station in April last year. Norval Strachan, whose union represents many staff at the site, says that the government promised last year not to close Torry. 鈥淪taff will feel very betrayed if rumoured proposals to close Torry go through,鈥� he says.
Waldegrave was due to announce the fate of Torry this week after considering a restructuring plan drafted by Peter Stanley, the CSL鈥檚 chief executive. Stanley would not comment earlier this week on the contents of the plan. Strachan said that during a visit to Torry in January, Stanley had reassured staff that they would not be relocated.
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