Grangemouth 'March for Jobs'

Unite is gearing up for a huge worker-led march and rally this Saturday (August 3) in support of Petroineos oil refinery workers in Grangemouth as the union fights for their future.

As part of Unite’s Keep Grangemouth Working campaign, the march will begin at Grangemouth Stadium from 11am and will end in a rally from 1pm at Zetland Park as detailed in the graphic below.

Unite’s campaign was launched in response to plans by Petroineos, announced late last year, to halt refinery operations at the Grangemouth plant by 2025 and transition the facility to a fuels import and export terminal only. The proposals could cost up to 500 jobs at Scotland’s only remaining oil refinery, with thousands more jobs at risk in the wider supply chain.

But in a major boon for the campaign, a change in government has signalled a reset in talks, with prime minister Keir Starmer saying days after the election that preserving jobs at Grangemouth was among his government’s top priorities.

Now, Unite has said there is ‘growing belief’ that positive talks with Westminster, Holyrood and Petroineos mean that an extension of the lifespan of the refinery can be secured.  

Unite highlighted several ‘positive steps’ following high-level talks with the government including £1.6m in joint government funding for Project Willow, which will explore low carbon projects at Grangemouth.

Commenting, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Unite is fighting hard for the futures of workers in Grangemouth, to extend the life of the refinery and to secure commensurate jobs for them in new low carbon projects at the plant.

 “I have had some constructive high-level talks with the government in Westminster and we are also continuing to engage positively with Holyrood and Petroineos,” she added.

 “The Keep Grangemouth Working campaign has put the fight to save Scotland’s only oil refinery centre stage,” Graham went on to say. “The march in Grangemouth is testament to the grit and determination of the workers to keep fighting for their futures.

 “We cannot allow oil and gas workers to become the coal miners of our generation.”

Unite Scottish secretary Derek Thomson hailed what he called a “sea change in government attitude both at Holyrood and Westminster over the refinery’s future”.

 “Now a solution with government support must be found to extend the lifespan of the oil refinery,” he said. “Unite will work morning, noon, and night in the fight to save jobs at Grangemouth.”

 “Grangemouth is one of the greatest tests the just transition process will ever face in Scotland. We need to get this right for the workers based at the refinery, and the thousands more dependent upon it in the wider supply chain and Grangemouth community.”

You can find out more about the Keep Grangemouth Working campaign – and how you can take part — on their Facebook page here.

Stay tuned on UniteLive for full coverage next week of the March for Jobs in Grangemouth on August 3.

By Hajera Blagg

Pictured in main image, Keep Grangemouth Working campaigners