Grangemouth's smokestacks hulked over a silent sprawl of machinery tonight as refinery owner Ineos's "sign or be sacked" ultimatum loomed.
The fates of hundreds of workers' jobs hang in the balance as the Morning Star went to press, just minutes before the company's deadline demanding their workforce agree to drastic cuts to pay and pensions.
The company told the refinery's 1,350 workers they had until tonight to consider new terms - including axing their final-salary pension, frozen wages until 2017, and cuts to shift allowances, overtime pay, holidays and redundancy terms.
JOHN LANG recalls how Murdoch used scabbing electricians and even devised a fake newspaper to force a confrontation with printers – then sacked them all
‘People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer: not workers,’ Unite general secretary Sharon Graham says
Sharon Graham addresses the Unite policy conference after talks over the Birmingham bin strikes break down
As bus builder Alexander Dennis threatens Falkirk closure and Grangemouth faces ruthless shutdown by tax exile Jim Ratcliffe, RICHARD LEONARD MSP warns that global corporations must be resisted by a bold industrial strategy based on public ownership


