Grangemouth dispute was UK’s costliest ever

THE shutdown of the Grangemouth oil refinery is estimated to have been the costliest industrial dispute in British history.

Economic experts have claimed the two-day strike which last week threatened to cripple the country cost about


Calculated at an hourly cost to both the industry and the economy as a whole, the cost would far exceed that of other major industrial disputes including the miners’ strike and the Wapping standoff.

The strike at the site run by energy giant Ineos involved around 1,200 members of the Unite union.

Although the walkout over pensions only lasted 48 hours, safety precautions meant the plant had to be shut down, and even after the dispute ended it was not fully operational for five days.

One source who has been closely involved with negotiations between the two sides said the figures involved were “simply astronomical”.

Scotsman