Tanker drivers at Scotland’s only oil refinery in Grangemouth have started industrial action in a dispute over cuts to pensions and earnings, severely impacting all aviation supplies and BP forecourts across Scotland and the North East of England.
The workers’ union Unite notified BP - which posted profits of over £7.6 billion in 2012 - that a three-day strike would begin on 22 February and that a continuous ban on overtime would start on 25 February.
Ninety per cent of the 42 LGV tanker drivers balloted voted for strike action to defend their pension rights and in protest at the loss of a company share-match for 2012 as a result of the imminent aviation contract transfer from existing employer BP Oil UK to DHL.
Unite regional industrial officer Tony Trench said: “It's an outrage that BP, a multi-national giant which earns billions every year, is exploiting the UK's weak employment laws to effectively swindle workers out of their retirement savings and future earnings.
“Last year, BP chief executive Bob Dudley was awarded a bonus of £2.6 million. This year, one-third of workers on the aviation contract at Grangemouth could lose up to £13,000 a year from their pension on retirement and two-thirds upwards of £1,400 a year from their basic earnings, due to the loss of the BP share-match scheme.
“It’s the same old story of fat-cat executives dictating a race to the bottom on workers’ terms and conditions while their own snouts are stuck firmly in the trough. There is still time to avoid a strike if BP comes to its senses and protects the workers ahead of the transfer, which they can more than afford to do.”
TUPE legislation (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment) was introduced in 2006 to protect workers' pay and conditions when they are transferred to a new employer. However, the legislation excludes protecting pensions when they are transferred to a new employer.
