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Refinery dispute talks deadlocked | Refinery dispute talks deadlocked |
(10 minutes later) | |
Talks aimed at resolving a dispute which could shut down the Grangemouth oil refinery, near Falkirk, will resume on Wednesday morning. | Talks aimed at resolving a dispute which could shut down the Grangemouth oil refinery, near Falkirk, will resume on Wednesday morning. |
Officials from the Unite union have been meeting bosses from Ineos at the conciliation service Acas in London. | Officials from the Unite union have been meeting bosses from Ineos at the conciliation service Acas in London. |
Up to 1,200 workers plan to strike on Sunday and Monday over proposals to change pension scheme arrangements. | Up to 1,200 workers plan to strike on Sunday and Monday over proposals to change pension scheme arrangements. |
The company has begun shutting down the refinery, which processes 210,000 barrels of oil a day, over the issue. | The company has begun shutting down the refinery, which processes 210,000 barrels of oil a day, over the issue. |
The strike was called over plans by Ineos to end its final salary pension scheme for new workers and to make other changes. | |
These included the introduction of contributions to the pension scheme from the workers. | |
Ineos said it had made a number of concessions to the union which it said represented a "significant improvement" on its initial proposals.The dispute prompted motorists to queue for fuel at Falkirk's Tesco store | |
But officials at Unite said there was nothing new in the company's statement, adding that the union continued to press for the proposals to be withdrawn. | |
After more than five hours of talks at Acas on Tuesday, union officials said the negotiations would continue at 0900 BST on Wednesday. | After more than five hours of talks at Acas on Tuesday, union officials said the negotiations would continue at 0900 BST on Wednesday. |
The bitter row which preceded the talks has resulted in Ineos taking legal action over comments made by union officials. | |
The company said Unite had claimed that Ineos had stripped £40m from the Grangemouth pension fund. | |
"This is an extremely serious allegation and is completely untrue," an Ineos statement said. | |
"We have asked Unite to retract their statement but they have refused to do so. | |
"We therefore have no choice but to issue court proceedings in order to protect our reputation and to establish that the allegation is untrue." | |
Governments on both sides of the border have urged the two sides to continue negotiations in a bid to avert the strike. | |
They have also warned the public against panic-buying fuel in fear of supplies running short. |