Govan Shipbuilders

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Govan Shipbuilders was a British company of the Clydeside area of Glasgow in Scotland taking its name from the Govan area.

The company was formed from Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS), itself a product of the amalgamation of several Clydeside yards, Fairfields, Alex Stephens, Connels, Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd. and Browns.

In 1971 Upper Clyde Shipbuilders had gone into receivership. Further government support in the form of a £6m loan had been refused by the then Conservative government under Edward Heath. Instead of striking, the unions decided to complete the current orders of the shipyards demonstrating that the labour force was not 'work-shy' and illustrating the long-term viability of the yards. This was successful to a degree. Govan was sold off in 1973 as Govan Shipbuilders.

In 1977 the Labour government of James Callaghan passed the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act which nationalised Govan and grouped it with other major British shipyards as British Shipbuilders.

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