Fuel shortages from next Friday

lil eva · Fuel shortages from next Friday

A planned strike by workers at a giant oil refinery will lead to fuel shortages from next Friday and could cripple supplies for a month, its owners have warned.

Up to 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth site in Scotland will walk out on April 27 and 28 in a row over pensions.

The site's owner, Ineos, said that the industrial action could mean no fuel supplies in Scotland and the North of England for at least a month, although the Unite union has warned that the whole of the UK would be hit.

Ineos said it had been left with no option but to begin shutting down the site - Scotland's only crude oil refinery - immediately. And the company warned that fuel shortages were likely to start as early as next Friday.

Ineos said it had decided on safety grounds to start shutting down Grangemouth because it wanted the site to be safe during the strike period.

The firm said the measures were being forced on it because of the strike, which has been called in protest at plans to close the final salary pension scheme to new workers as well as other changes.

Ineos said it had made concessions to Unite and guaranteed that no changes would be made to existing pensions before next April, and accused the union of "rushing" to take industrial action.

The company
said the stoppage would also effectively close down a large proportion of North Sea oil production as well as some gas production which goes through Grangemouth.

Chief executive Tom Crotty said: "This is a huge oil refinery and they (the union) know you can't just turn it on and off like a tap. A month is our best guess but safety considerations will be at the forefront of everything we do."

He warned that the strike threatened the investment as well as hundreds of jobs and would damage the UK economy.

Serenity

Gawd, I do sympathise with the workers, but I remember the last fuel shortage, it was a bloody nightmare! Lets hope they get what they deserve and its resolved before it starts

lil eva

A filling station is charging £1.45 a litre for diesel amid fears of fuel shortages if a strike at a giant oil refinery goes ahead.

The Rix garage in Kirkcaldy, Fife, has raised the cost of diesel by 25%, the Daily Record newspaper said. It also reported that the station was charging £1.25 a litre for unleaded petrol.

The move comes as talks aimed at averting a strike on Sunday at the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland continue at Acas.

Tom Hutton, 56, a joiner who lives in Kirkcaldy, said he was astonished when he went to fill up his tank and discovered the price they were charging.

"I was running on fumes and when I went to get petrol it was £1.45 a litre," he said. "I challenged the woman in the shop about the price and she said they had had to put it up - but it was not her fault. I think it's absolutely ridiculous."

No-one at Rix Petroleum could be contacted for comment.

will_lufc

Bremner4

bit of a nightmare up here, the press have wound everyone up as usual and folk are panic buying - not unheard of for folk to top their cars up and only spending £3 or £4 to fill their tank - they must waste more than they out in sitting in the queues

A lot of the petrol stations have no choice but to raise their prices as the distribution firms can charge what they like!

I'm ok for work till near the end of next week and that's me if I can't get any more. Just have to work from home

silver fox

it will happen all again , be no food etr on shelf in shops better start stock in again by the looks of things

Bremner4

best laugh was our local radio station decided to start a panic buy on something for a laugh, and they went for Crunchies.

Folk actually went into the shops and bought 6 at a time

will_lufc

its mad init