‘NO STONE UNTURNED’

Unite has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in the fight to save Scotland’s only oil refinery from closure.

The union led a 500-strong march and rally in Grangemouth, where refinery owners PetroIneos plans to convert the site into an oil terminal for imports. Only around 100 people would be employed at the terminal.

At present, 2,000 people are directly employed at Grangemouth across the refinery, the Forties pipeline and the Ineos petrochemicals operation. Around 500 are employed on the refinery, but there are many more contractors on site. Thousands of jobs in the supply chain could also be lost if the refinery closes.

Chris Hamilton, Unite’s convener at Grangemouth, told the rally, “The impact that closure of this site would have, would be massive, we know, not just to Grangemouth, to the Forth Valley region, but also to Scotland as a nation. According to some reports, the site makes up four per cent of Scotland’s GDP, and approximately eight per cent of Scotland’s manufacturing base.”

Unite’s Grangemouth March for Jobs was led by workers and their families and supported by large contingents from Unite’s branches and the wider trade union movement. A brass band accompanied the march from the perimeter of refinery site through the town’s streets to Zetland Park, where the rally took place.

Speaking to UNITElive, Unite Scotland region secretary Derek Thomson said, “Last year they announced the potential closure of the oil refinery with the potential loss of 500 jobs, with no just transition, no plans in place as to how those people would find new work. The town is really invested in oil and gas, so we want to make sure that the town, the community, the workers know that Unite the Union is backing them, because it’s a key part of our industrial sector.

“It’s all about jobs, pay and conditions. We are doing absolutely what the general secretary said she would do from the word go. We’ll be fighting tooth and nail to defend every single job, and also defend this community.

“The Grangemouth complex is at the heart of this community, and we must protect those jobs. The reps in particular have been out almost every single day leafleting, talking to the community, making sure they’re aware.”

The rally was also addressed by Scottish TUC president Lilian Macer, Friends of the Earth Scotland just transition campaigner Rosie Hampton and local businessman Amrit Dhillon. Former Alba Party MP Kenny MacAskill, who also served as an SNP cabinet minister in the Scottish Government, described the campaign to save Grangemouth as “the major industrial struggle of our age”.

Brian Leishman, Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth said, “The myth that the refinery isn’t profitable is exactly that — a myth. The wealth generated by the workers here is enormous.”

Claire Peden, Unite senior organiser working on the Unite for a Workers’ Economy team, placed the planned closure of Grangemouth in the context of a system that has failed workers and enriched bosses.

She said, “The economy has been broken for a long time. Look at what’s happening in the steel industry, the energy sector, and look at what’s happening here in Grangemouth.

“All the while we’ve seen obscene profits from energy companies… but we’re all the ones being hit by higher bills, seeing people unable to heat their homes, small businesses closing and community centres and churches having to open as ‘warm banks’, to give people a hot meal, somewhere to charge their phones and a warm place to stay.”

Grangemouth refinery opened in the 1920s and supplies Scotland’s airports with much of their aviation fuel. It also supplies petrol and diesel products for markets in Scotland, the wider UK and abroad.

Unite shop steward Tam Rafferty told UNITElive, “The initial announcement has a massive impact. There is a lot of uncertainty about people’s futures, people have their own livelihoods to think about, bills to pay, kids to look after, but ultimately they’re looking for job security. That announcement moved everyone out of job security. The big challenge now is where do you replace those jobs? There’s nothing locally, their futures are uncertain.”

He called for “a transition plan”, adding, “The life of the refinery has to be extended for a start, until a plan has been agreed. And that plan should be a plan for the future, and it should be sustainable.”

Hamilton added, “If a just transition can’t be delivered here, will it be delivered anywhere?

Stating that more than 70 per cent of the workforce lived in Grangemouth and its immediate surrounding areas, he said, “The one thing that runs common throughout this workforce, however they’ve come to work at the site, is their locality and connection to this area.”

Unite has welcomed the announcement of Project Willow, jointly-funded by the UK and Scottish governments to explore options for refining sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuel products at Grangemouth.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “The Keep Grangemouth Working campaign has put the fight to save Scotland’s only oil refinery centre stage. 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.”

Words and Pictures by Conrad Landin