Lindsey Oil Refinery workers to rally in Westminster over future of site
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham will join hundreds of workers and their families
Workers from the Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire will rally outside Parliament this week, demanding urgent government action to save the site and secure jobs.
Unite the Union have confirmed the demonstration will take place at 11am today (Wednesday 3 September) by the George V Statue on Abingdon Street, Westminster.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham will join hundreds of workers and their families calling for the government to guarantee the refinery’s future.
The site directly supports around 450 jobs, alongside 500 contractors and potentially thousands more in the wider supply chain.
The union says it also produces petrol, diesel and jet fuel - accounting for 10 per cent of the UK’s domestic fuel supply - making it a key part of the country’s energy security.
The refinery went into administration in June following what unions have described as serious mismanagement by its former owners. Several potential buyers have expressed interest, but operations have been suspended since the collapse.
"decisive action"
Unite’s Sharon Graham said: “The government must take decisive action to secure a sale and protect jobs at the refinery.”
“If it closed it would be the second British refinery that we have lost in less than a year. This would not be acceptable.
"It is a disgrace that the government still has no plan to transition oil and gas workers into green jobs and we can’t let go of one rope before we have hold of another.
“The Lindsey refinery is critical national infrastructure; it supplies 10 per cent of the UK’s domestically produced fuel and plays a vital role in the local economy.
"Its future must be guaranteed.”
"Our sympathies are with the workers"
Energy Minister Michael Shanks has previously said:
“We are deeply disappointed with the untenable position in which the owners left Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery.
“As a result, after a thorough process to determine whether a sale was possible, no credible offers have been made to purchase the entire refinery and it will be winding down operations, while the Official Receiver continues to pursue interest in individual assets.
“Our sympathies are with the workers, their families and the local community. While we continue to strongly encourage the owners to do the decent thing and publicly commit to making a voluntary financial contribution to support workers, all those directly employed at the refinery are guaranteed jobs over the coming months.
“The government will immediately fund a comprehensive Training Guarantee for these refinery workers to ensure they have the skills they need and are supported to find jobs in the growing clean energy workforce.”