AN ALLOA man got his fifteen minutes of fame last week when he was given the task of showing the Prime Minister around his workplace, writes Alison McCallum.

 

George Vekic, 46, had the eyes of the country’s media on him as he showed Gordon Brown round his workstation at the Norbord factory last Thursday (February 25).

George, who works as a process operator at the plant, said: “I was only told that morning that I was going to be meeting him.

 

“It was a very brief meeting but I got the impression that Gordon Brown was very impressed with the set up.

 

“He asked me where I was from and how long it took to get there – I think he was trying to find out how many local people relied on Norbord.”

 

But for George – who has worked at the factory for 20 years – the encounter with the Prime Minister was nothing more than just part of his everyday job.

 

He said: “I’ve not really been telling all my friends and family – I’ve got much more important things to be getting on with.”

 

Mr Brown was joined by the Scottish Secretary, Jim Murphy, as he took a tour of the Cowie-based factory.

 

Mr Brown told the Wee County News: “I’ve had a great visit at this plant and the way that the workforce and the management have come together during these difficult times to maintain all the shop floor jobs is something we should be very proud of.

 

“And they have been able to keep taking on apprentices and that’s an important signal for the future.

 

“Norbord here who, as a company, has been here for 20 years, but as a plant has been going for 30 years, has become very much part of the local community and with people who work here not living too far, they have to act in a way that makes them accountable to the local people.

 

“This plant’s got a great future, especially because of the biomass.”

 

Mr Brown added: “It’s producing its own energy, and I think the whole of the country has lessons that we can learn from the imaginative way they have gone about this.”

	19-03-2010 08:17
	poor bugger, bet he was bored to tears, we never voted for this clown

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