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Solidarity with Grangemouth Workers |
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At 6am on the 27th April the night shift at the Grangemouth oil refinery walked out of the plant signaling the beginning of a 48 hour stoppage by 1200 workers that ceases the flow of oil from the North Sea and the distribution of fuel from Grangemouth to petrol stations around Scotland and the North of England. The end of the shift also gave a crushing answer to the media inspired propaganda war against the workers that has been conducted in the national media (predictably managements case gained the lions share of the coverage).
More than 100 workers and supporters including members of Solidarity who also distributed material welcoming the action and outlining the importance of a victory as a beacon to others fighting against attacks on pension schemes, took part in the 11am rally at Grangemouth on Sunday.
The mood was angry and determined. The appearance of the owner of the plant, the venture capitalist Jim Ratcliffe, at number 25 in the Sunday Times Rich List (a personal fortune of £2.3 billion) on the day the strike began, was not lost on the workforce.
At the rally, Convenor of Unite Mark Lyons explained that when Ratcliffe brought the plant from its previous owners British Petroleum (BP), the pension scheme was in a healthy state. Now the scheme is oversubscribed by 125%! There is no economic case for management attack! He continued by explaining that the union was fully aware of the hardship that would be caused to the public and informed that the emergency services would continue to receive fuel and that the plant would still be serviced for Health & Safety by workers. He stated to applause, “this dispute is in recognition of all workers. It is a fight for all pensions!”
A ring of security at the plant attempted to maintain a distance between the strikers and the supporters. Any contact relied on the preparedness of shop stewards approaching the press and supporters for a discussion. Some were wary, they stated that the employer had threatened the union with a writ due to its views on the owner’s practices being exposed. Others were willing to talk and explained how they had wanted to maintain a control of the disputes timetable in the face of management attempts to stall the talks. The tactic, they explained, is due to the industry’s offshore operations shutting down for maintenance during June and July. Therefore requiring workers to achieve a speedy victory.
Workers leaders have stated that any refusal by management to reconsider their attack on pensions will see another ballot for strike action. The scheme represents one of the best currently in existence where only the employer makes contributions. The workers are determined to defend it.
Ian Leech
Glasgow Unison member |
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