Playing With Fire

I wouldn't blame Unite, the union for the way things have turned out in Grangemouth because in difficult industrial relations issues - the 'whip hand' always rests with the employer.

But it does seem to me that Unite has been playing with fire in recent weeks by ramping up the dispute, indulging in sabre-rattling by calling a foolish and unnecessary strike - the purpose of which was unclear to say the least - and led to the owners, Ineos, shutting the plant down on safety grounds.

The next thing you know the company is going over the heads of the union to put a 'rescue plan' directly to the the workforce - involving a pay freeze and other cuts to their terms and conditions. 

Now Ineos has announced that the petro-chemical side of the business will close down permanently - and that the oil refinery plant will only re-open if the workforce and/or Unite agrees to the proposed new pay package which is, of course, based on inferior conditions of service.

So, we have ended up with a mess and the people who are paying the price and the workers and their families who face a bleak future - particularly if the Grangemouth plant faces a full-blown closure.

What puzzles me is the lack of constancy in the union's approach - because many hundreds of male workers in Labour-run South Lanarkshire Council faced the very same situation only a few months ago - back in May 2013.

Yet instead of standing up to the Council and mounting a big, high profile campaign - never mind a strike - Unite simply rolled over and allowed South Lanarkshire to impose its will and new conditions of service on the workforce.  

What I don't understand is why the union's tactics should be so very different - in different parts of the country.

If you ask me, Unite's leadership in Scotland has an awful lot of explaining to do to its members - who appear to have been led up the garden path.