Texan customer contests H&W bill

The Belfast shipyard Harland & Wolff and the Texan conglomerate Global Marine are locked in an acrimonious dispute over payment for additional work carried out during the construction of two deepwater drillships.

The £600 million contract for the vessels was signed in March, but the management at the yard is insisting that it did not include provision for additional modifications carried out by the company at Global Marine's request.

H & W says that in August, it was forced to apply for a £50 million loan in order to carry out the extra work. Global Marine's chairman and chief executive, Mr Robert Rose, says the changes were minor, and that statements by the yard had misrepresented his company's concerns for the Belfast workers and their community.

"The shipbuilder recently advised the company," he says, "of potential claims for additional costs, primarily involving steel weight content. These claims will not affect future earnings."

More than 100 new jobs are to be created by the Bangor company MM Group Ireland at its communications centre in the town. The group, previously known as Mediaphone Ireland, is a joint venture between the Bristol-based MM Group and the communications company Ardmore.

Employing more than 50 people, it is the largest independent bureau call centre currently operating in Northern Ireland.

A leading Northern Ireland economist has warned that more jobs could be lost in the bakery industry as a result of the pricing policy being implemented by the major retailers.

Mr Mike Smyth, a senior economics lecturer at the University of Ulster, gave his warning following the closure of the Mother's Pride bakery in Derry, with the loss of more than 80 jobs.

It is estimated that about 2,500 people work in the bakery industry in the North, most of them for the four biggest producers - British Bakeries, Allied Bakeries, the Ormeau Bakery, and Irwin's in Portadown.