Refinery strike: Management and union ponder peace deal

Published on Tuesday 29 April 2008 19:23

HOPES of an end to the Grangemouth oil refinery dispute rose tonight after a proposal was drawn up to break a deadlocked row over pensions.

The move followed peace talks between leaders of the Unite union and bosses from Ineos, which owns the giant refinery in Scotland.

Ineos chief Jim Ratcliffe took part in the meeting, held within hours of the end of a 48-hour strike by 1,200 workers, which led to the closure of Grangemouth.

A brief joint statement said: "A meeting was held in London today between Jim Ratcliffe and Tom Crotty of Ineos and the joint general secretaries of Unite, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley.

"It was a constructive and meaningful discussion and ended in a proposal that will be considered by the company and the union in the coming days with a view to finding a resolution to the pensions dispute."

The Grangemouth complex was tonight returning to production after the strike, which was held in protest at the planned closure of Ineos's final salary pension scheme to new workers.

Business Secretary John Hutton visited Grangemouth earlier today and welcomed the new talks, adding: "There is a gap between the two sides that has got to be bridged – only the two parties themselves can reach an agreement. No one can do that for them. But I hope there is now a mood to try and reach an agreement.

"We have an opportunity now to try and resolve this dispute. Both sides should show restraint and responsibility, and create the space to allow an agreement to be reached.

"I am sure an agreement can be reached, and that is in everyone's best interests."

Mr Hutton said he had travelled to Edinburgh to voice his "appreciation and respect" for work done by the Scottish Government to minimise the impact of the dispute.

Mr Hutton met Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, who said: "We are anxious that everything that we say contributes to the resolution of the dispute – and that nothing that we or anybody else say should be seen as aggravating things again.

"We are in a much better place than we were a few days ago, and let's hope that positive progress continues."

Mr Hutton denied the Labour Government's pensions policy had been a factor in the dispute, saying that increased longevity was putting pressure on final salary pension schemes around the world.

"I think it's quite wrong to say this dispute has its origins in changes to the tax regime that took place 10 years or so ago," he said.

Emergency fuel supplies arrived in Scotland to ease the pressure on forecourts yesterday, with more due to be shipped in from Europe today.

A fleet of between 500 and 600 tankers is also expected to move out of Grangemouth to replenish supplies at filling stations.

The shortages occurred after several days of motorists rushing to fill up their tanks.

A spokesman for BP said: "By 6am tomorrow, we expect there will have been 450 tanker movements, including 140 BP tankers to fill up BP branded forecourts.

"The remainder will be wholesaler customers picking up, either delivering to their own petrol stations or forwarding to third parties.

"If all goes well tomorrow, deliveries out to sites and pick up by wholesalers will reach between 500 and 600."