The second day of the Grangemouth oil refinery strike over pensions has begun.

Hundreds of workers at the Ineos plant walked out at 6am on Sunday and are not due to return until 6am tomorrow.

To avoid fuel shortages over 6,500 tonnes - that's ten days supply of fuel - are being shipped to the Forth. Two tankers have already arrived, a further five will come in to port within next few days.

According to the Scottish government only five of Scotland's 956 filling stations have run out of fuel however there could be a problem at the beginning of the week as supplies are replenished.


Both Unite the workers union and Ineos have yet to agree fresh talks.

Workers at the refinery have taken out a series of adverts in the Scottish media to explain the reason for their strike and ask for the understanding of the nation.

Ineos general manager Gordon Grant said: "We bent over backwards to try and avoid this strike but, unfortunately, the trade unions have decided to go ahead with it - premature in our view - but that's what they've done."

Unite's national officer Phil McNulty said they are not going to let things escalate: "This is about a demand by an employer that we accept the closure of a pension scheme and we are not going to do that.

"We are going back to work tomorrow and we want a period of peaceful reflection. We want to negotiate, there is no doubt about that, but we won't give in on this.

"We are not going to escalate it, but there is a date, there is a deadline. This company is saying they are going to close the pension scheme on August 1 and that now is what this is about."

(GK/JM)