Further reactions to Grangemouth decision

Unite the union
In response to the closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant, Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish secretary has said;

‘Unite and our members at Grangemouth are devastated by the announcement this morning of the closure of the petrochemical plant. It has confirmed our fears that this was the intention of Ineos all along.

‘Discussions have taken place with the company this morning and will continue over the course of the day. We have made further proposals in a last ditch effort to stave off these catastrophic job losses which we believe are tantamount to economic and industrial vandalism.

‘Make no mistake, one man is holding this workforce and this country to ransom and that man is Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe. The ball is now in the court of Jim Ratcliffe and the respective governments in Edinburgh and Westminster and we await their responses.’

Comments from International Transport Workers’ Federation
ITF president and chair of the dockers’ section, Paddy Crumlin has said the following in support of the Grangemouth refinery workers;

‘Today’s announcement is outrageous. This action by Ineos is a direct attack on the union, which has almost 100% membership at Grangemouth. But it’s not just an attack on the union and the workforce, it’s an attack on communities and the Scottish economy too.

‘Just as Unite cannot accept a substandard offer which lays out depleted terms and conditions for its members, the Scottish people and the government cannot accept a company which clearly has no social conscience being in charge of a facility which controls something like 12% of the Scottish national economy. This site cannot be allowed to close and we join Unite in its call for a new owner to come forward or for the Scottish government to take the operation under public control.’

Edited from various sources by Claira Lloyd

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/24102013/further_grangemouth_reactions/