UNITE has called on the Labour government to intervene and back the union’s plan to save Grangemouth oil refinery.
Scotland’s only oil refinery accounts for 8 per cent of Scotland’s manufacturing base and 4 per cent of its GDP, but has been earmarked to close by Summer 2025 by owners PetroIneos at a cost of 400 direct jobs and more than 2,800 in the wider supply chain.
Now Unite, whose member-led campaign to Keep Grangemouth Working has long demanded both the Scottish and British governments intervene to save the vital piece of national energy infrastructure and deliver a planned and fair transition for the skilled workforce, has put forward its own plan for survival.
Writing to Labour Energy and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “A Labour government not putting together a serious plan for the future of the site and the thousands of jobs which depend on it would be a huge dereliction of duty.
“How this government deals with the threatened closure at Grangemouth will be the key test of your commitment to a just transition for workers and communities.”
The detailed plan put to Mr Miliband would see the site converted to the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), a move that the union argues could make the refinery the “bio-fuels hub for Britain” and save thousands of jobs in the process.
Unite says that its plan would be between 30 and 70 per cent cheaper than building a new bio-fuel facility from scratch, that it would benefit from an experienced and skilled workforce already on site and that it should be delivered by a new Grangemouth Transition Plan body, with the British and Scottish governments as “investors of first resort.”
Ms Graham said: “To close Grangemouth now is madness.
“It is incumbent on the government to take decisive action.
“It must break away from the mistruths and distortions created by Petroineos which is putting its own interests ahead of those of the workers, the Scottish economy and the UK as a whole.
“Continued inaction by the government will not be forgiven or forgotten.
“A failure to act will totally undermine the confidence of workers across multiple sectors facing huge upheaval as we move to a green economy.”
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero was contacted for comment.
