Monday, 21 October 2013

Fate of Grangemouth plant discussed

Source BBC News@ tienganhvui.com




BBC Scotland cameras took to the skies to show the scale of the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical plant.



Owners of the Grangemouth refinery and petro-chemicals complex are to meet later to decide on the plant's fate.


Unite union said half of the 1,350-strong workforce had rejected Ineos' proposed change to contracts.


It said that was a mandate to return to talks and fire up the plant, which was shut down last week by Ineos in response to a strike threat.


Ineos has said the plant would close without new investment and changes to workers' terms and conditions.


Senior figures at Ineos, which operates and owns most of the 2.6 sq-mile site, are to consider the workforce's response to the offer.


In doing so, they will also look at the patterns of the result across the plant, and across its varied technical skills.


The firm said it would communicate the shareholders' views directly to the workforce on Wednesday.


However, Ineos has warned a decision on the plant's fate could take several days.


Formal consultation on the firm's "survival plan" for Grangemouth began last Thursday.


Ineos said it would take 45 days before any changes to terms and conditions could be introduced and 60 days before any changes to pensions could be implemented.


The plan includes freezing the basic salary and offering no bonuses until at least the end of 2016.


The shift allowance would also be reduced and pensions transferred from a final salary to a defined benefits scheme.


The company has said no job cuts were expected. It also said employees who support the plan at this stage would receive a transitional payment of up to £15,000 and an enhanced employer contribution to their pension.


Majority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe has said if the petro-chemical plant goes, the neighbouring refinery is unlikely to survive.


He has also said Ineos may not be willing to pay the cost of a prolonged shutdown.


The workforce had to respond to the offer on pay and pensions by Monday evening.


Unite said, by the 18:00 deadline, it had been given 665 forms rejecting the offer.


A day earlier, Ineos had said it had already received about 300 positive returns for the offer.


The union has now promised no strikes and said it was prepared to negotiate.


The refinery, which has an annual capacity of 10 million tonnes, provides most of the fuel in Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland.


The petrochemicals facility at the site manufactures more than two million tonnes of chemical products per year, which are later transformed into essential items such as bottles and pipes, cabling and insulation and food packaging.





Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui

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