BY BARRIE CLEMENT
How on earth can any sensible government allow a critical part of a country’s infrastructure to be sold to a secretive billionaire tax exile?
We are talking here of a massive installation, producing a substantial slice of a nation’s gross domestic product and without which the whole economy would grind to a halt.
You might imagine that acquiescing in such a sale would be worthy of President Trump himself.
Alas, we are talking about a British government and the Grangemouth petro- chemical complex in Scotland. Even more regretfully it was a Labour government that sat on its hands as the sale went through, albeit under the leadership of Tony Blair, a politician obsessed with the merits of the private sector.
The inevitable happened. Having bought the plant in 2006, Ineos founder Jim Ratcliffe, who owns 60 per cent of the shares in the Swiss-based company, eventually warned both the Scottish and British governments that unless massive state subsidies were forthcoming he would have to close it.
Clearly neither government could contemplate such a closure, given that a shutdown would quickly lead to empty petrol pumps throughout most of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.
Who could possibly have imagined in their wildest dreams that the company would issue such a threat?
And as to employees, Ratcliffe warned them they would have to make huge sacrifices as part of a ‘survival plan’ to enable the complex to survive – and Ineos continue to make profits.
Quelle surprise! The story of this malign neglect by our senior politicians is writ large in a fascinating book by Mark Lyon, who was Unite convenor at the plant when Ineos bought it.
It is a book which contains an important history lesson, as Unite’s Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty says. “It takes us on a journey
from public ownership of the plant ultimately to a situation in which a single shareholder wields enormous power.
“At one stage BP, publicly-owned at the time, was not only committed to the plant but to the workforce and the community.
“There were social clubs and housing schemes and BP took its community responsibilities very seriously. There were clashes obviously, but the workforce were protective of the company. Now there is absolute drive for profit and people feel they have been held to ransom.”
At its first meeting with the union, Ineos declared its intention to close the final salary pension scheme. That set the scene for conflict.
As part of that conflict Unite held a successful 48-hour strike to defend employees’ pensions. Ratcliffe never forgave the union. The billionaire went to extraordinary lengths to get rid of Unite convenor Stevie Deans and his successor, the author of the book.
Intimidation Apart from a bizarre set of allegations against Stevie and Mark, the two men experienced a campaign of intimidation which took a toll on them personally.
The company even made use of false claims that Unite had unlawfully ‘packed’ the Falkirk Labour Party with its own members ahead of a ballot to replace the disgraced MP Eric Joyce. Stevie was chair of the constituency party at that time.
Eventually Stevie was forced out by Ratcliffe. Then the company went after Mark. He was told he was to be disciplined for… wait for it … failing to stop Unite’s Scottish secretary talking to the press. The other allegation was that Mark had the temerity to raise safety concerns at a union- management meeting.
Mark was dismissed by the company in February 2015. But in March an employment tribunal forced the company to pay his wages, pension and benefits in the run-up to a full hearing.
The judge at the tribunal said, “There was no material evidence that Mr Lyon had
been guilty of any wrong-doing.” He added that it was ‘likely’ he would win his case at a full hearing.
Mark decided to use his tribunal case to achieve industrial gains for the work- force. The reinstatement of check-off, achievements on health and safety, engagement with the union. Mark is now vice chair of Unite’s executive and works full time for the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
Says Pat, “It is amazing how much power one man had – and still has – over a workforce,
the community of
Grangemouth, two governments and 10 per cent of the Scottish GDP. The company doesn’t have a board of directors with any control over what that one man does.
“He has the power to shut down the site and shut down the whole of the Scottish economy. That cannot be good for democracy. This comes across in the book. It gives people an insight into what really happened, as opposed to the nonsense that was written in the right- wing media. It is clear that a public stake should be taken in the site.”
As this article is being written, the so-called survival plan had run its course. Unite was back in negotiations in an attempt to redress the balance and even out wage disparities which had sewn discord across the site.
Safety at the enormous and potentially dangerous plant has suffered, according to shop stewards. They say that employees who report safety shortcomings are liable to be blamed themselves. As a consequence there has been ‘under- reporting’, the stewards believe.
Says Mark, “The loyalty the members at Grangemouth have shown proves the union is still there. The members have never deserted the union, in fact penetration is near 70 per cent and membership is growing. Ratcliffe has failed in his mission to destroy trade unionism on the site.”
It is a testament to Stevie and Mark that he failed to do so. It is a book everyone should read, especially Tony Blair.
Lawrence & Wishart in association with Unite. Add discount code UNITE 17. uniteWORKS Spring 2017
The Battle of Grangemouth – A worker’s story by Mark Lyon, published by 27
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