‘Do your jobs’: STUC general secretary slams government over Grangemouth at Scottish Labour conference

Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Roz Foyer has called on the government to do more to protect jobs threatened at Grangemouth.

Grangemouth, the only oil refinery in Scotland, is set to close with the loss of 400 jobs.

At a speech to delegates at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow, Foyer described the treatment of workers at the refinery as a “betrayal” and called on the Scottish government and the Labour government to “do your jobs [and] stand by Scotland’s energy workers”.

“For our movement, Grangemouth was a key test of whether the UK and Scottish governments could work together to protect jobs, livelihoods and an entire community.

“Despite the valid efforts of the local Labour MP Brian Leishman and the dogged determination of trade unions, so far both governments are failing those workers.”

READ MORE: Scottish Labour conference backs motion calling for winter fuel allowance u-turn

She called on both governments to embrace a plan to transition the refinery to become a “key driver of net zero” to save jobs and boost the economy.

“This is an opportunity that must be grasped, and yet our governments hesitate to use their full powers to intervene. Instead they wring their hands and offer us condolences, because the billionaire owners have decided it’s not in their global interests to keep Scotland’s only refinery open.

“My key message to both our governments is this: do your jobs – stand by Scotland’s energy workers. If you fail to save the jobs in Grangemouth, if you fail to halt this closure and invest in a real just transition, then you will be failing workers right across Scotland.”

READ MORE: Scottish Labour conference speech: How Sarwar plans ‘bold, meaningful change’

Foyer said the government must stand against “corporations who profit while communities suffer” and called for greater control of the energy industry, including public ownership of the energy system.

She also called for the government to introduce taxes on wealth and ensure those who have billions invested in property and land “start paying their fair share”.

“It’s not the non-residents arriving in small boats that we need to crack down on, it’s the ones who arrive in private jets,” she said.

It comes after a protest outside of the Scottish Labour conference yesterday, which saw Unite workers place 400 helmets, one for every job lost, outside the Scottish Event Campus venue.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “We’re here to say to the Labour government in the UK, and obviously the politicians in Scotland, that they need to save the Grangemouth site.

“It’s not acceptable for them to put their fingers in their ears, and not save this site, and that’s what we are demanding.”

The Prime Minister has previously said that the Labour government in Westminster would do “everything we can to make sure that viable long-term future is there for workers, for their communities and all that rely on it”.

Labour has been approached for comment.

Read more on Scottish Labour conference:

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• Joani Reid MP: ‘Here’s why Scottish Labour shouldn’t despair at the polls’
• Delegates at Scottish Labour conference set to debate motions on winter fuel, Cass review, and others
• Scottish Labour conference: Emergency motion on Palestine to be debated
• Scottish Labour conference speech: Sarwar vows ‘big, bold meaningful change’

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