3 August: workers march in Grangemouth, Scotland, against the relegation of the Petroineos refinery to an import/export hub. Photo Workers.
On Saturday 3 August workers marched past the Grangemouth oil and gas refinery, near Falkirk, Scotland. This was a further boost to their campaign to save their jobs at the site.
The refinery owner, Petroineos, has revealed plans to start downgrading to just an import and export facility in 2025. The workforce includes about 500 workers at the refinery, 450 on the North Sea Forties pipeline and over 1,000 in petrochemicals.
Thousands more work in allied supply chains. Unite Scottish Secretary, Derek Thomson, outlined his union’s vision for the refinery’s survival, citing innovative projects such as sustainable aviation fuel production.
Thomson said, “We need to get this right for the workers based at Grangemouth – and the tens of thousands more in the oil and gas sector that will follow. We cannot allow these workers to become the coalminers of our generation. Unite will work tirelessly to ensure this does not happen.”