An event will be held today to mark the 50th anniversary of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilding (UCS) work-in, which included employees at the John Brown yard in Clydebank.

The work-in at UCS, during 1971-72, saw workers stage a sit-in following the Conservative government's decision to remove funding and attempt to close the yard.

The decision meant at least 6,000 of the 8,500 shipyard workers employed by the yards would have to be made redundant.

The work-in saw workers manage and operate the UCS shipyards until the government changed its policy.

A civic reception hosted by Glasgow’s Lord Provost, Philip Braat, will be held at Glasgow City Chambers today to honour the UCS workers.

Jimmy Cloughley, a former member of the UCS co-ordinating committee said  on behalf of the veterans: "This event is not one born out of nostalgia but a reminder that we have to keep alive the struggle to maintain employment for our young people."

Pat Rafferty, Scottish secretary of the Unite trade union, said: "The UCS work-in in the 1970s is a powerful reminder that the struggles faced by workers then to keep their jobs and keep industries open, are the same ones workers are having today fifty years on.

"The collective action and the decision to occupy the yard taken by those workers ultimately saved their jobs and saved the shipbuilding industry on the Clyde, and to them we will be forever grateful."