UK fuel supplies under threat

The petrochemical plant at Grangemouth in Scotland is under threat of strike action due to a dispute over pensions.

Twelve hundred employees at the site, which supplies the UK with fuel, have voted for strike action on Sunday 27th and Monday 28th April in response to the planned ending of the final salary pension scheme for new workers and reduction of provision for existing members.

Although the strike is for only two days it will shut off supply from the North Sea and halt production for a month. This will have an instant effect on all fuel supplies in the UK as it relies on the Grangemouth site to be at full production to maintain current levels.

The final salary scheme is well funded according to Unite; this is despite £40m being stripped out of the fund and company contributions being reduced when Ineos bought the site from BP in 2005.

With an annual turnover of £45 billion Ineos’ actions have been seen as corporate greed by the union and its members. And with the strike action confirmed the UK could very well grind to a halt unless the company changes its plans.

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