Aberdeen jobs warning as anger grows at Grangemouth refinery closure

The closure of Grangemouth signals a warning for industrial jobs across the oil and gas heartlands of Aberdeen, according to worried union leaders.

Roz Foyer, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress, outlined concerns about the knock-impact of refinery closure and the need for an urgent industrial strategy to save jobs.

“For us, Grangemouth was the test of a ‘just transition’,” she told the P&J’s politics podcast, The Stooshie, published on Wednesday.

The long-promised “just transition” refers to government promises to ease the move from oil and gas-reliant jobs to greener energy.

Ms Foyer said politicians need to step up efforts or risk livelihoods after a “valiant” campaign by the Unite union, which offered cheaper solutions for Scotland’s last refinery.

“What we’ve seen is our governments’ utter failure, at UK and Scottish level, to keep that site open,” she added.

“If that’s their idea of a just transition, our movement has grave concerns about the whole of oil and gas, and that’s an awful position to be in.”

Confidence at low ebb

Ms Foyer found positives in the Labour government’s GB Energy utility investment project, but her confidence is “at a low ebb”.

Petroineos said in September that refining activities at Grangemouth would end in 2025.

In recent months, hundreds of workers have taken voluntary redundancy while a number of compulsory redundancies have been made.

A significant report commissioned by the Scottish and UK governments, known as Project Willow, aimed to chart a future for the site in low-carbon energy.

But the report said this would require around £3.5 billion of private investment.

Petroineos has said the refinery is loss-making and has rejected claims from unions that the site could easily transition into a hub for producing sustainable aviation fuel.

On Tuesday, First Minister John Swinney said the closure was a sad day for Scotland.

“The Scottish Government will work to secure a future for the Grangemouth community and agreement to the Acorn Carbon Capture project is essential,” he added.

Brian Leishman, the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said Scotland is the “victim of industrial vandalism”.

Mr Leishman told the Commons: “I don’t want anyone in this chamber to dare mention a ‘just transition’, because we all know that the Conservatives when in power and the SNP currently in Holyrood did nothing to avert this catastrophic decision happening.”

Listen to the full 20-minute interview on The Stooshie.