A PROTEST has been planned at the Scottish Labour conference over the closure of Grangemouth.
The trade union Unite has accused both the Labour and Scottish governments of being “on the verge of colluding in a catastrophe”, with the oil refinery set to close as early as May.
The union is planning on laying 400 yellow hard hats outside of the entrance to the conference on Friday, each representing a job lost at Grangemouth.
The protest will take place on Friday at 10.30am outside the Scottish Exhibition Centre in Glasgow, where the Scottish Labour party conference is taking place.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham will be in attendance at the rally, where she will say that the Labour and Scottish governments have “failed the workers at Grangemouth”.
She is expected to say: “The Labour Government, these Labour politicians, and the Scottish Government are on the verge of colluding in a catastrophe.
“Last week Anas Sarwar told us, ‘Sorry, Labour hadn’t done enough for Grangemouth’.
“If Grangemouth goes these Labour and SNP politicians will never be forgiven, or forgotten.”
‘What is a Labour Government for if not to save jobs?’
Unite said the Scottish Government's announcement on Tuesday of a further £25 to secure a “just transition” for Grangemouth "comes with questions”, arguing that it essentially accepts that Grangemouth will close.
The union has prepared its own plan for Grangemouth which details how the refinery could instead be converted to deliver sustainable aviation fuel.
Graham will add: “Let’s be clear, only the British Government has the real power to deliver the £1 billion needed to convert the Grangemouth refinery to a green energy producer.
“What is a Labour Government for if it isn’t to save jobs? If they can’t save 400 jobs, what does that say about what they’ll do in the future?”
Scottish Labour have been contacted for comment.
