Unions demand action to prevent ‘corporate decapitation’ of Grangemouth

Scotland’s last remaining oil refinery is slated for closure next year, with 400 jobs at risk of being lost. It will be turned into a fuel import terminal that will employ around 100 people.

Workers and union members marched along the Royal Mile in Edinburgh down to Holyrood for a rally on Thursday calling for the site to be saved.

Unite the Union general secretary Sharon Graham warned the UK and Scottish governments about the threat of deindustrialisation.

She said the union would not accept the creation of “another working-class wasteland”.

She said Unite had a plan to transform the site into a green aviation fuel hub, something that has been done in other countries.

John Swinney, who met Ms Graham before the protest, is considering the proposals, his official spokesperson said.

Speaking outside the Scottish Parliament, she said politicians were not doing enough to save all the jobs at risk in Falkirk.

She said: “Let’s be very, very clear and make no mistake, what is happening at Grangemouth is an act of industrial vandalism, a grotesque spectacle of corporate decapitation, where a world superpower and a British billionaire who buys a football club as a hobby is allowed to throw these workers on the scrapheap.”

Petroineos is a joint venture between PetroChina and Ineos, a chemical conglomerate owned by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, a significant minority shareholder of Manchester United.

Petroineos has said it cannot continue supporting Grangemouth, which it said is losing up to £385,000 a day and is older and smaller than other refineries across the world.

Ms Graham described the closure of the plant as “highway robbery” and said political leaders were not doing enough to stop it.

She added: “Where are the politicians? Until this week most of them have been missing in action.

“Why have they let it go so far? It’s an abdication of their responsibility. So let’s say very loud and clear here today to the SNP, to Scottish Labour – fight for Scotland.”

Speaking to the PA news agency after her speech, she criticised Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, who previously told PA that the UK Government would not consider buying the oil refinery.

“I think what Ian Murray said about Grangemouth and accepting closure was abhorrent, quite frankly,” she said.

“I think what he said was completely and utterly wrong.

“How can people say those things where they haven’t even bothered to look at an independent review to see if this site can be saved?”

The Scottish and UK governments have committed £1.5 million to Project Willow, a study that will look at options for the long-term future of the site.

But Petroineos has said its findings would not arrive in time for jobs to be saved.

Both governments have also committed £100 million of investment for a local growth deal to support jobs in the area.

Graeme Allan, a 30-year-old utilities control room operator at Grangemouth, said the closure of the site would be “detrimental” to him, his family and the wider community.

He told PA: “Grangemouth already has two of the most impoverished areas in Scotland. This will just push the rest of it into further destitution.

“It will be absolutely diabolical.”

Asked whether he agreed with ministers that they are doing all they can to save the site, he said: “We are almost being lied to. We are here today because we are not seeing any action on this and everyone can see through what they are saying.

“And I’d like to say to John Swinney, where are the promises to help with the transition? We are standing alone and that’s why we are here today.”

A spokesman for Petroineos said: “The people who work at Grangemouth deserve a more intelligent debate about their future than the one being played out by some politicians and union officials, who are naturally defensive at having missed the opportunities we gave them several years ago to talk to us about an orderly and fair transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner energy.

“Meaningless statements about pausing the closure and confusing suggestions that the refinery can become a biofuels plant overnight don’t mask the fact that politicians and trade unions have left it too late to extend the life of the refinery.

“But it is not too late for us all to co-develop a bright future for Grangemouth, producing low-carbon fuel and eventually creating hundreds of skilled jobs here again.

“The Project Willow work we are currently engaged in, which is now supported by governments at Westminster and Holyrood, is the only real option to create the conditions for that exciting future.”

UK energy minister Michael Shanks said: “We have been very clear that Petroineos’s recent confirmation on the closure of Grangemouth oil refinery was deeply disappointing.

“Before July, there was no overall plan for the future of the Grangemouth refinery.

“Within weeks, we worked with the Scottish Government to put together an unprecedented £100 million package to support the community and invest in the local workforce, along with tailored support to help those affected find good, alternative jobs.

“We are also jointly funding Project Willow with £1.5 million to develop options for a sustainable industrial future at the site.”

The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.