Tagged with Ineos

Unite statement on Falkirk

Falkirk CrisisIn July this year Unite was subjected to a major campaign of criticism regarding allegations of misconduct in the affairs of Falkirk Constituency Labour Party – in essence that the union had tried to manipulate the selection procedure for a Labour candidate for the constituency outside the Party’s rules. The union was enjoined by a range of political and media voices to take these allegations seriously and investigate them.

The core of the allegations, which have now resurfaced in a distorted form in the media, were contained in an internal Labour Party report into Falkirk. Unite has not received a copy of this “Falkirk report” to this day, although a senior Unite official was allowed to read a copy at Labour Party headquarters in July. Continue reading →

How our taxpayer-rescued banks helped INEOS escape UK taxes

JimRatcliffeSo billionaire Jim Ratcliffe seems to have succeeded in forcing through huge reductions in the pay and conditions of his Grangemouth workforce. See the excellent recent Open Democracy article by Robin McAlpine for the background story. But Ineos, the company of which Ratcliffe is the main owner,  represents much that is most destructive and arrogant about modern global capitalism. Continue reading →

Grangemouth closure exposes why markets and capitalists like Ratcliffe are not fit for purpose

Till yesterday it seemed inconceivable that Grangemouth, representing 2% of Scotland’s GDP and 8% of its manufacturing capacity, could be closed down by an industrial dispute, with 800 jobs lost and another 600 nearby plus 2,000 contract staff severely at risk. The dispute reached rancorous levels from the demands of Ratcliffe, billionaire hedge fund owner of Ineos and apparently orchestrating evens from his yacht on the Cote d’Azur, for the workforce to accept a pay freeze for 2014-16 (and hence probably a real terms pay cut of some 5%), the ending of bonuses till 2016, a lower shift allowance, and the termination of the final salary pension scheme, in addition to demanding that Unite accept a no-strike deal. The ruthlessness with which Ratcliffe is trying to enforce his will, regardless of the consequences, may now threaten both fuel and chemical supplies in Scotland as well as devastate local businesses. Continue reading →

Ineos, the SNP and a fillip for Scotttish independence

Grangemouth 2I write about the decadence of the British ruling class and then confirmation makes the headlines shortly thereafter. There is nothing I can add about the specifics, except to say this piece by Robin McAlpine is an excellent rundown of what’s been happening at Grangemouth, as well as a condemnation of Britain’s flexible labour markets – where flexibility is labour’s responsibility and capital’s rigidity is sacrosanct – and the appalling London centrism of our media and our politics. Continue reading →

Grangemouth, class aggression and the ‘national interest’

Grangemouth posterizedIt is in ‘the national interest’ that Grangemouth remain open say the Scottish Government, refusing to countenance closure. They are however seemingly content with the idea that this be accomplished by the Ineos workforce sacrificing wages, pensions, redundancy terms and shift allowances. The national interest is being defined as the continuation of production at the plant and the refinery across the road, and only this. It’s an illustration of who counts as ‘the nation’ and gives us an idea of whose interests count as national priorities. Continue reading →