20 Feb 2025

Unite to organise protest on ‘Grangemouth catastrophe’ at Labour Scottish conference this weekend

WHAT 400 yellow hard hats, each representing a job lost at Grangemouth, will be laid out near the door of Scottish Labour conference, for a great symbolic declaration, by Unite, about Grangemouth.
If the supply chain jobs at risk were included in the protest we would need 1000s of hard hats.

WHERE The precincts of the Scottish Exhibition Centre (SEC), Exhibition Way Glasgow G3 8YW

WHEN 10.30am Friday 21st February

WHO At 10.45/11.00am Sharon Graham will address the rally at the SEC.

Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, will tell the rally that the Labour and Scottish governments have failed the workers at Grangemouth refinery.

Even the new £25m Just Transition fund announced this week by John Swinney comes with questions. The biggest being it accepts closure, as a starting point.

Sharon Graham will say : “The Labour Government, these Labour politicians, and the Scottish government are on the verge of colluding in a catastrophe.

"Last week Anas Sarwar told us sorry “Labour hadn’t done enough for Grangemouth”. Now, this week, John Swinney announces a Transition fund which accepts closure. You might as well call it the Post Closure Fund. If Grangemouth goes these Labour and SNP politicians will never be forgiven, or forgotten”.

Unite has prepared its own detailed plan for Grangemouth, produced with independent experts. It shows that the ‘green’ aviation fuel - Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) - of the future could be delivered by a Grangemouth refinery converted to deliver that. Grangemouth could be saved as a champion for SAF - a bio-hub for Britain. Sharon Graham says “Let’s be clear only the British government has the real power to deliver the £1bn needed to convert the Grangemouth refinery, to a green energy producer. What is a Labour government for if it isn’t to save jobs? If they can’t save 400 jobs what does that say about what they’ll do in the future?

Contact Information

David Carnell
Unite senior communications adviser
Unite the union
07718 666592
david.carnell@unitetheunion.org

Twitter: @unitetheunion Facebook: unitetheunion1 Instagram: unitetheunion Web: unitetheunion.org

Notes to editors

Further information Bob Wylie 07711 751570 / Claire Peden 07815 704914

Editorial Note

DRAFT Unite Resolution / Scottish Labour conference

Potential Closure of Grangemouth Oil Refinery.

Conference condemns the announcement by Petroineos to close the Grangemouth Oil Refinery in Quarter 2 of 2025.Conference further condemns the failure of both the UK and Scottish Governments to intervene and provide a bridge between closure and new renewable infrastructure being brought to Grangemouth for a just transition. Conference notes that it is now clear that neither the UK or Scottish Governments have any coherent plan to implement a just transition from fossil fuels. This failure is now a real and credible threat to thousands of workers working in Oil and Gas and in the supply chain. Conference notes that analysis published by PWC shows that the total loss of jobs as the result of the refinery closure at Grangemouth will be 2822 with £403 million being lost to the local economy. The scale of the impact nationally as a result of a failed just transition is incalculable at present. Conference applauds the work of the local trade union representatives and the Keep Grangemouth Working campaign in its fight to date. Without this work it is clear the refinery would have already closed. Conference resolves to support the Keep Grangemouth Working Campaign and calls for a ‘Transition stake’ to be taken by the UK and Scottish Governments to extend the refinery while new infrastructure can be accelerated into Grangemouth.

Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.