5 May, 2008
Further industrial action at the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex in Scotland by Unite is not likely, following negotiations last week between the union and Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe.
Reports surfaced over the weekend that Ratcliffe has agreed to maintain the final pension scheme for all workers. Ineos had proposed that, effective in August, the final pension plan would be closed off for new hires, and that full pension benefits would not be awarded to staff choosing to retire at age 60. The company had proposed full pension benefits only at age 65.
Unite Joint General Secretaries Tony Woodley and Derek Simpson
Ineos has agreed to withdraw the letter to staff announcing the pension changes. The union reportedly has agreed to make efficiency changes in order to achieve cost savings, efficiencies that will not include redundancies. Unite is expected to poll union members on the revised proposal soon.
A two-day strike on 27-28 April by 1,200 Unite members gained global attention when it crimped fuel supplies in Scotland and caused a ripple effect on nearby energy installations, including the shipment of gas from BP’s Forbes Field in the North Sea. Grangemouth is a refiner of polyolefins and oil derivatives used for various fuel sources.
On 29 April, Ratcliffe and Tom Crotty of Ineos began the first of a set of constructive and meaningful discussions with Unite Joint General Secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley to resolve the dispute. Ineos is a fast-growing energy concern that was created in 1998. In late 2005, it bought Grangemouth from BP’s Innovene chemicals division.