Union warn 'avalanche effect' has started at Grangemouth with 140 contractor jobs in jeopardy
Unite the union claims the oil and gas industry in Scotland is being hit by an “avalanche” of job losses as hundreds of Grangemouth-based contractors face unemployment in the coming weeks.
The trade union highlighted over 140 jobs with the contractor Altrad – which had provided operational support to the Petroineos oil refinery in Grangemouth – face losing their job at the end of June.
The contractors undertook a number of critical support services at the refinery including access, thermal insulation and protective coatings. During peak activity at the refinery Altrad employed up to 300 workers.
Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “There is an avalanche of redundancies taking place across Scotland’s oil and gas industry. Theses job losses highlight what Unite has been saying about the unfolding jobs crisis in the oil and gas industry.
"The reality is that the UK and Scottish governments are failing to protect thousands of jobs. Government policy is also accelerating these huge losses without any credible jobs plan in place.”
An impact assessment by PWC found that the Grangemouth refinery made an economic contribution of £403.6m per annum, and almost 3,000 workers were reliant on the refinery’s operations.
Derek Thomson, Unite Scottish secretary, added: "The historic end of oil refining at Grangemouth is now causing the widely predicted domino effect with hundreds of jobs being lost in the supply chain.
"The job losses are unnecessary because there should be new energy projects underway like SAF production at Grangemouth. Scotland is in serious danger of losing thousands of highly skilled jobs while creating no new opportunities in greener industries for workers to transition into.”