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Grangemouth industrial dispute
28/04/2008
Finance Secretary John Swinney will visit the Grangemouth refinery tomorrow morning to encourage Ineos and unions to work together in bringing the plant back into production as early as possible.
Mr Swinney said:
"While a small number of forecourts in Scotland have run out of supply because fuel is not flowing from Grangemouth, there is ample supply of fuel already in, and coming to Scotland, to replenish stocks quickly.
"While there may be further inconvenience today with localised pressures, supplies are getting through. Extra supplies of additional fuel from Europe are now arriving in Scotland and a fleet of tankers will move again tomorrow out of Grangemouth.
"The public response to the current dispute has been overwhelmingly measured and responsible. I want to thank the public, but we all still have to be patient, conserve fuel where possible and allow production to resume. If further fuel purchases can be postponed until midweek, that would ease pressure at the pumps as deliveries return to normal levels.
"I welcome the sensible action taken to release fuel for essential services and I thank the union and Ineos for their co-operation on this.
"Like everyone in the country, we want this dispute to be settled - that can only be done by both sides getting round the table and resuming talks as soon as the strike is over. We will continue to encourage the union and management at Grangemouth to do everything possible to end this dispute."
Most retailers reported lower than expected demand on Sunday, which has contributed to maintaining stocks at manageable levels. At midday yesterday, 28 filling stations were reported as out of fuels, according to a Government round up. This was higher than reported on Saturday, but remains a small fraction of the 956 forecourts in Scotland.
The numbers of partial and full stockouts were broadly stable at around 80 and deliveries were arranged for most of these outlets.
Grangemouth is expecting between 500 and 600 road tanker deliveries tomorrow, and priority will be given to retail stations which are or are close to stockout.
Earlier, Deputy First Minister said that large quantities of fuel stored at Grangemouth will be distributed from tomorrow morning as soon as the strike is over.
"My message to the Scottish public would be to continue to be responsible, to be prudent, conserve fuel where possible and be patient, if you can wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to fill up your tank then do that, and if we all continue to behave in that way then Scotland will get through this admirably."
Ms Sturgeon said there had been co-operation between both management and union over the weekend to ensure Scotland kept moving and, once the strike was over, every effort had to be made to resolve the differences between the sides.
"They must get round the table very quickly to try to sort it out because we don't want to see this dispute escalate and we don't want to see any greater impact on the Scottish public or the economy.
"It's not for the Government to take sides on this dispute, it is for the Government to do everything it can to encourage both sides to get round the table to find a resolution to the dispute. That's what the Scottish Government has been doing during the course of last week and it's what it willl continue to do."
Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said:
"It was heartening to hear from ACPOS that union members are showing exemplary conduct at Grangemouth. I also understand that employers Ineos have helped by providing facilities for those on the picket line.
"We welcome this and the co-operation between both sides over the weekend to ensure we have adequate supplies for essential services and that Scotland keeps moving. But the strong message to both sides today remains that they should get round the table tomorrow to make sure that every effort is made to resolve this dispute.
"In the meantime, I would ask the Scottish public to continue to be responsible, to be prudent, conserve fuel where possible and be patient. If you can wait until tomorrow or Wednesday to fill up your tank then do that, and if we all continue to behave in that way then Scotland will get through this admirably."