A leading trade union will stage a protest outside the Scottish Labour conference today over the looming closure of Grangemouth oil refinery.
Unite will lay 400 hard hats in front of the SEC in Glasgow to represent the number of redundancies at Scotland’s largest industrial site.
The union has described the shut-down of the country’s last remaining refinery as “economic madness”.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, told the Record: “Our demonstration involves laying out 400 hard hats at the door of Labour conference – each hard hat a symbol for a job lost.
“But the truth is, if we were to count the jobs in the supply chain as well we’d need to lay out thousands and thousands more.”
Unite has called for the UK Government to support its plans for Grangemouth to be converted into a production facility for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The union argues the rising global demand for SAF means it would secure a long-term economic future for the site.
Petroineos, which owns the refinery, claims it loses on average £385,000 per day and expects a £150 million loss this year.
The company has already started the shut down of the refinery, a process which is expected to conclude by May.
Graham continued: “The forecasts for the demand for SAF as net zero targets are met by 2035 are for demand to increase by 3000 per cent.
“The Government has to see this and plan for the future. It would be economic madness to close Grangemouth in these circumstances.
“To close and then re-open Grangemouth at a later stage would cost way more than converting the refinery now.
“Think of what that would cost the Scottish economy and think of the loss of these skilled jobs at a time when we need to re-skill the workforce not diminish its skills.”
The union chief was also shrarply critical of what she viewed as the Labour Government at Westminster’s failure to save the refinery.
She added: “Look, it’s time to call things by their real names. If the Labour Government can’t save 400 jobs where there is a clear transition to a thriving market open for all to see then how can we trust them to save the hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake in the net zero transition.
“Frankly, it is the Labour Government that has the real power to make the real decisions. What is a Labour government for if it isn’t for saving jobs and defending workers? This is lining up to be a Labour own goal of historic proportions. Promises of jobs 10 years from now won’t cut it.”
A Labour Party spokesman said: “When Labour came to office last year, there were no plans for Grangemouth.
“Within days the UK Labour Government approached the Scottish Government to put together a package of measures. This included £100 million for the Falkirk and Grangemouth growth deal, which will deliver more than £628 million in economic benefits and create 1,660 jobs.
“The UK Labour Government is also putting £26 million into the Forth Green Freeport, with Grangemouth at its heart, to attract investment and well paid, quality jobs to the area.
“Project Willow, a jointly funded study looking at a long-term sustainable future for the site, was commissioned within days of Labour taking office. It could have been commissioned months beforehand, but only got the green light after Labour won the election.
“At every step of the way it has been Labour that has driven a sense of urgency on Grangemouth.”
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