Ineos Grangemouth strike called off
16 Oct 2013
A planned 48-hour strike at Ineos’ Grangemouth refinery site was today called off as union bosses accused the petrochemicals firm of walking out of peace talks.
Ineos and Unite Union representatives had been meeting at the offices of the Arbitration And Conciliation Service (ACAS) in Glasgow since Monday in a bid to end the dispute over Ineos’ treatment of union convenor Stephen Deans.
Ineos is running an investigation into Deans’ activities as a union representative to determine whether he misused company resources. The investigation, which is due to conclude on 25th October, began after Deans was suspended and then reinstated following his involvement in the controversial Falkirk by-election.
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty today said his union was calling off the strike to avoid the Grangemouth plant being shut down, after Ineos yesterday began the process of shutting down fuel production.
Unite will now call off all industrial action to protect this national asset from the scandalous behaviour of its owner
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty
Rafferty said the union was standing down in order to protect Grangemouth from the “scandalous behaviour” of Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe, who Unite claimed had demanded an apology from the union.
“We are outraged that Ineos representatives walked away from ACAS talks, after sixteen hours of negotiation and on the cusp of an agreement, for the ludicrous reason that Ineos chairman Jim Ratcliffe instructed his management representatives to demand an apology on his behalf,” said Rafferty.
“It’s clear to us that Jim Ratcliffe is not prepared to accept any proposals or negotiate on any principle. He is now systematically running the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical sites into a damaging cold shutdown which will impact on fuel production and supply across Scotland - and he now doing this in full view of everyone.
“As a result, Unite will now call off all industrial action with immediate effect in order to protect this national asset from the scandalous behaviour of its owner. The plant should now start the return to full production and there is no excuse for this not happen.”
Ineos has yet to make a statement in response to Unite.
Energy secretary Ed Davey welcomed the calling-off of the strike.
“I am pleased that Unite have called off this weekend’s strike,” said Davey.
“I would urge both parties to continue to talk with the help of ACAS in order to reach a fair, sustainable resolution of their differences and ensure the long term future of the Grangemouth complex.”
Ineos claims that its subsidiary Grangemouth Petrochemicals (UK) is currently facing serious trading issues, and that the dispute over Deans has delayed vital talks on the future of the plant.
The site lost over £576 million in the last four years and is currently losing over £10 million per month. The pension scheme is £200 million in deficit and pension costs are 65% of salary.
