Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 6 related projects in PECWeb
Released October 31, 2023 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Thousands of workers across the U.K.'s leading refineries and nuclear power stations have voted to strike over an ongoing pay dispute.
The action, if it goes ahead in the coming month, could seriously dent the output from the U.K.'s refining sector. It would impact four of the six major refineries -- Essar Oil UK Stanlow (220,000 barrels per day (BBL/d)), Esso Fawley (270,000 BBL/d), Valero Pembroke (220,000 BBL/d), and Petroineos Grangemouth (150,000 BBL/d) -- as well as the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant, which is part of the northern North Sea Brent oil and gas field system located in Scotland. The 3,000 workers include 1,000 from the Sellafield nuclear waste management site in Cumbria. Workers at the Drax and Hartlepool nuclear power stations are also expected to announce strike action in the near future.
The workers are members of two of the U.K.'s largest unions, Unite and GMB. They are covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) and have voted to reject a pay deal of 8.5% for 2024 and 3.5% for 2025. The members carry out essential repair and maintenance at oil refineries, power stations and pharmaceutical and petrochemical plants. They are also involved in the construction of new-build projects for critical industrial infrastructure, and according to Unite "strike action would cause significant disruption to the operations at all the sites."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This offer is completely unacceptable when the industries involved are awash with profits. It does nothing to reverse the shrinking value of these workers' wages over successive years or that higher pay elsewhere is causing workforce shortages. It also ties these workers into gambling on the economy and inflation in 2024 and 2025 when their finances have already been battered by increasingly unpredictable market forces. Any disruption caused by potential strikes lies squarely at their door -- a much improved offer needs to be put forward if this dispute is not to escalate into widespread industrial action."
Industrial Info understands that a new offer is on the table from the key employers group, the Engineering Construction Industry Association. It is offering 10% for 2024 and 5% for 2025. It stated: "This significant wage offer of 15% over 2 years, plus the other benefits...marks a substantial improvement over the previous offer by the employers, of 8.5% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025, on which you are currently running a ballot for industrial action. This review has confirmed that industrial action would be extremely damaging to the reputation of the National Agreement (NAECI), further straining the confidence of clients supporting the agreement and would have a detrimental impact on all people working within the U.K. ECI industry."
Industrial Info is tracking major investment at the refineries in producing green hydrogen, swapping from gas to hydrogen and reducing their emissions in order to comply with stricter regulations. For instance, at Stanlow there are plans for two hydrogen production units and the construction of a carbon capture plant worth in excess of US$1.3 billion. Similar upgrading, hydrogen plant and carbon capture plant investments are also under way at Fawley, Grangemouth and Pembroke, representing billions of dollars in investment.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
The action, if it goes ahead in the coming month, could seriously dent the output from the U.K.'s refining sector. It would impact four of the six major refineries -- Essar Oil UK Stanlow (220,000 barrels per day (BBL/d)), Esso Fawley (270,000 BBL/d), Valero Pembroke (220,000 BBL/d), and Petroineos Grangemouth (150,000 BBL/d) -- as well as the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) plant, which is part of the northern North Sea Brent oil and gas field system located in Scotland. The 3,000 workers include 1,000 from the Sellafield nuclear waste management site in Cumbria. Workers at the Drax and Hartlepool nuclear power stations are also expected to announce strike action in the near future.
The workers are members of two of the U.K.'s largest unions, Unite and GMB. They are covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI) and have voted to reject a pay deal of 8.5% for 2024 and 3.5% for 2025. The members carry out essential repair and maintenance at oil refineries, power stations and pharmaceutical and petrochemical plants. They are also involved in the construction of new-build projects for critical industrial infrastructure, and according to Unite "strike action would cause significant disruption to the operations at all the sites."
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This offer is completely unacceptable when the industries involved are awash with profits. It does nothing to reverse the shrinking value of these workers' wages over successive years or that higher pay elsewhere is causing workforce shortages. It also ties these workers into gambling on the economy and inflation in 2024 and 2025 when their finances have already been battered by increasingly unpredictable market forces. Any disruption caused by potential strikes lies squarely at their door -- a much improved offer needs to be put forward if this dispute is not to escalate into widespread industrial action."
Industrial Info understands that a new offer is on the table from the key employers group, the Engineering Construction Industry Association. It is offering 10% for 2024 and 5% for 2025. It stated: "This significant wage offer of 15% over 2 years, plus the other benefits...marks a substantial improvement over the previous offer by the employers, of 8.5% in 2024 and 3.5% in 2025, on which you are currently running a ballot for industrial action. This review has confirmed that industrial action would be extremely damaging to the reputation of the National Agreement (NAECI), further straining the confidence of clients supporting the agreement and would have a detrimental impact on all people working within the U.K. ECI industry."
Industrial Info is tracking major investment at the refineries in producing green hydrogen, swapping from gas to hydrogen and reducing their emissions in order to comply with stricter regulations. For instance, at Stanlow there are plans for two hydrogen production units and the construction of a carbon capture plant worth in excess of US$1.3 billion. Similar upgrading, hydrogen plant and carbon capture plant investments are also under way at Fawley, Grangemouth and Pembroke, representing billions of dollars in investment.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
