First Minister Nicola Sturgeon flew home from Germany to continue the battle for BiFab.
Ms Sturgeon left the Climate Change Conference in Bonn early to host crunch talks over the troubled company on Thursday afternoon.
As he paid tribute to the commitment and dignity of BiFab’s 1,400-strong workforce, Deputy First Minster John Swinney said the Scottish Government was pulling out all the stops to secure the firm’s future.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, where he stood in for Ms Sturgeon, Mr Swinney said: “Can I reassure Parliament, the workforce and communities we are doing everything we can to bring this matter to a resolution.”
Hundreds of BiFab employees at sites in Burntisland, Methil and Lewis have been working without pay since Monday after hearing the firm was facing critical cash flow problems.
BiFab claims it has not been paid for work on the offshore Beatrice windfarm project by Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL), something which has been denied by the Dutch contractor.
Talks over how to resolve the dispute and the possible development of a rescue package have been going on all week.
As BiFab workers filled Parliament’s public gallery on Thursday, Mr Swinney said: “The Scottish Goverment is actively involved in trying to resolve the disputed sums because it will create a pathway for future stability at BiFab.
“We are prepared to continue to take forward discussions in that respect.”
The Deputy First Minister said BiFab was of huge importance to Scotland’s renewables sector.
“The Scottish Government is determined to secure the future of BiFab,” he said.
While financial help from the public purse is still a possibility, Mr Swinney added: “The fundamental focus is on resolving the contractual issues that have led us to this situation.
“Our energies are focused on that.”
He continued: “We have a slightly longer time window to resolve this than we first thought because of the commitment and dignity of the workforce at BiFab.
“I thank every one of them who have been in this difficult position since Thursday for demonstrating to everybody around the world the commitment to manufacturing in this country.
“I’m very proud of all of them.”
