Union Statement Shows Strike is About Pensions For Non Existent Workers

Which makes it look like the unions are stopping a third of the UK's oil production over, literally, nothing.

Of course, to portray future workers as 'non-existent' is a misrepresentation, the unions simply wish to see the current - affordable - pension scheme not closed to future members. But there was also a second issue at stake, that of 'reducing the value of the pension to current staff' (from Unite's website). Both of these issues are what the strikers were balloted on, and resolved by 97% to strike against.

However, Ineos during 'negotiations' suspended all changes to current members' pensions, leaving only the future members as an issue. Of course, this has allowed them to portray the strike action as harming the UK economy without any benefit to anybody currently in existence.

As Jerome pointed out, the real problem is not the closure of the Grangemouth refinery itself, but that it is part of a larger piece of infrastructure: the Forties pipeline, and the Kinneil plant. A private company has thoughtlessly been handed a key piece of national infrastructure, and can now use its 'national importance' as a way of framing a dispute against the unions. A lot of their press releases 'plead' with the union not to spread the dispute and punish unconnected parties, but when they own such an important asset, such a knockon effect is unavoidable at some point.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.