Link here- Sounds quite serious :huh:

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/taysid...ral/7356235.stm

 

 

Fuel warning over plant shutdown

 

The management of Scotland's only crude oil refinery have started shutting it down after claiming a strike later this month will compromise safety.

 

Ineos said its refinery at Grangemouth would be closed for "at least a month", and warned the country to expect major fuel shortages.

 

About 1,200 members of the Unite union are to strike on 27 and 28 April in a dispute over pensions.

 

Unite said the changes Ineos wanted to make to pensions were "unreasonable".

 

Ineos said in a statement that it had taken the decision to start shutting down the Grangemouth facility on safety grounds.

 

It is important that the plant is not only shut down safely but also remains safe through the strike period

 

Ineos statement

 

The statement added: "Fuel shortages are likely to begin in Scotland as early as Friday 25 April, and the whole of Scotland could be without fuel for at least a month.

"It is important that the plant is not only shut down safely but also remains safe through the strike period and this process can take many days."

 

The first stage of the closure began on Friday night, with the first plant on the site due to shut completely on Monday.

 

The remaining plants would be taken offline in a phased shutdown which would be completed by Friday.

 

The statement said that the action would also effectively shut down much of the North Sea's oil and gas production, a large proportion of which goes through Grangemouth, causing supplies to dry up and leading to shortages across Scotland and the north of England.

 

Tom Crotty, CEO of Ineos Olefins, said: "The union is well aware that a 48-hour strike will cause fuel chaos in Scotland and the north of England for weeks on end.

 

"This is a huge oil refinery and they 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.

 

"They have deliberately chosen a course of action that is the minimum pain for them, but which will inflict the maximum pain on Scotland and the whole UK."

 

Hundreds of jobs

 

Mr Crotty described the union's claim that the refinery made £3m a day as "nonsense", and said Ineos needed to invest £750m into the site.

 

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

 

Phil McNulty, national officer of Unite, insisted that the company was profitable and the pension scheme was well-funded and affordable.

 

The union has previously said that Ineos is planning to close the final salary pension scheme after taking £40m from it and slashing its own contributions.

 

Mr McNulty added: "The changes to the scheme Ineos are proposing are unreasonable, unnecessary and have forced our members at Grangemouth to take industrial action for the first time."

 

 

 

 

 

Sounds like the 70s all over again :blink:

nowt on news 24 about it...

 

but rising fuel prices coupled with rises in the cost of living plus the contenscious immigration problems all indicates that this government is heading for trouble.

Wow!! That is serious.......and that "Sounds like the 70's" comment, did something similar happen back then? Just curious :mellow:

nowt on news 24 about it...

 

 

That's because at the moment it's only likely to affect Scotland and the North of England. And we don't matter a jot when it comes to the BBC or Sky News. :P

 

My friend just phoned me from town to say there are really long queues at all the petrol stations.... Looks like the Panic buying has started. <_<

 

Wow!! That is serious.......and that "Sounds like the 70's" comment, did something similar happen back then? Just curious :mellow:

 

 

Yeah. Loads of industrial unrest. No petrol, shortage of electricity. The country went on a 3 day week. It was great as I got 2 days off school every week but I remember my dad having to get the candles and paraffin lamps out. Happy Days. :lol:

 

That's because at the moment it's only likely to affect Scotland and the North of England. And we don't matter a jot when it comes to the BBC or Sky News. :P

 

<_<

 

 

Your right there, probably take a nuclear bomb to fall on Scotland before the BBC/Sky will highlight it. <_<

 

This could potentially be very damaging, and traffic could grind to a halt. Either garages will let themselves run out, or they could source fuel from the rest of the UK which will have a knock on effect, and possibly create shortages all over. Or more likely give them an excuse to bump prices up. :(

The 2 petrol stations in my nearest town have run out of unleaded. The petrol station in the next town has a queue a mile long outside it and will probably run out of unleaded very shortly. And Grangemouth's production hasn't even been affected yet.

 

Oh the joys of Panic Buying. :rolleyes:

The 2 petrol stations in my nearest town have run out of unleaded. The petrol station in the next town has a queue a mile long outside it and will probably run out of unleaded very shortly. And Grangemouth's production hasn't even been affected yet.

 

Oh the joys of Panic Buying. :rolleyes:

 

I would go and fill mine up, but its nearly full as it is :D

Ditto. I filled up my tank on Friday before I knew anything about this. But I couldn't fill it up today even if I wanted to. Unless I put vodka in it instead of unleaded. :lol:

 

I really don't care. If there's nowhere I can buy petrol, I can't get to work. Hopefully the weather will turn nice and I can sit on my deckchair for a month. And I'll lose lots of weight when I run out of food and can't get to the supermarket (hence saving me having to pay £5 a week at Scottish Slimmers).

 

 

-_-

If petrol stations close pumps down and only allow access for people of the emrgency services I'll still be cruising around :kink:

 

*raises middle finger to Sky and BBC*

 

Millions of people actually live north of Birmingham <_<

went past Morrison's at 10 this morning and the forecourt was full of cars, and a small queue on the road outside panic buying :rolleyes: Panic buying drys the damned things up <_<

They say friday for fuel to run out,

 

i reckon wednesday/thursday.

 

I queued at work on sunday to fill the car. and i actually needed to.

 

the station on the duel carriageway just before the tay bridge on the fife side had 2 out of 8 pumps open :mellow: t**** forced the queue out onto the dual carriageway next to a bloody roundabout exit :rolleyes:

Just read on Teletext that the last ditch ACAS talks have collapsed. Looks like the strike is going ahead then. Oh well.... :mellow:

Asda say they won't run out as they get their supplies from elsewhere

They say friday for fuel to run out,

 

 

The Scottish Government seem to think if we keep buying at normal levels there's enough fuel to go well into May :lol:

:rofl:

 

They are so deluded it's unreal

We need Corporal Jones from Dad's Army

 

'Don't Panic! Don't Panic!' :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

 

I'm quite sure the Scottish Government know exactly what the state of play is. But they can't really come out and say 'We're All Doomed' can they? That would just cause even more panic buying and make matters even worse. They've got to try and ease people's fears. I don't think they're deluded at all. Just trying to calm the situation and limit the damage.

 

Whether that will work, I very much doubt. I suspect we'll be well in the proverbial by the start of next week. :wacko:

they are still daft as brushes.

 

yeah, Morrisons in St Andrews took 55K in one day the other day.

 

it normally takes 12K-13K

 

some retailers are pushing up the prices just because of the strike, watch out for Shell (thieving bast*rds) and Tesco <_<

It is time legislation was bought in outlawing strikes in essential services in this country such as emergency services, security forces, transport services, fuel depots and other areas that are essential to the infrastructure of this country

 

The nation should not be allowed to be held to ransom like this, it is time strikes in essential services were made illegal