Tag: Grangemouth

Victory for workers’ rights in INEOS refinery appeal

Unite members working at the INEOS refinery at Grangemouth have won a legal battle that strengthens collective bargaining rights and will prevent employers bypassing unions to impose pay deals on employees.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal has ordered global chemical firm, INEOS, to pay compensation to 28 Unite members employed at its Grangemouth site of £3,830 each, after it tried to impose a 2.8 per cent pay award on them in 2017. Their union, Unite, had previously rejected the offer.

This latest ruling strengthens the law on ‘unlawful inducements’ to surrender trade union rights. It builds on the ground-breaking Kostal UK Lytd v Dunkley and ors case, which Thompsons successfully won alongside Unite the Union last year.

Neil Todd, trade union specialist at Thompsons Solicitors, said: “This is a key victory not only for the Unite members involved, but for all workers in trade unions across the UK.

“The right of a recognised trade union to collectively bargain on behalf of its members is fundamental to workers’ rights and this judgment makes clear that it should be respected by employers.

“Along with the Kostal case, a spotlight is finally being thrown by the courts on trade union bargaining rights and it’s not looking good for employers who think they can ignore trade unions when they choose”

The Unite members argued that imposing the pay increase outside the collective bargaining process amounted to an unlawful inducement to give up collective bargaining rights.

Documents disclosed during the legal proceedings revealed a member of the firm’s senior leadership team had suggested the company needed to “engineer a way to get rid of Unite and replace them with a different representative body” after its members refused to vote in favour of the proposed offer.

The initial tribunal in 2018 ruled in favour of the workers, but INEOS appealed the judgment and that appeal was subsequently delayed pending the outcome of the related Kostal UK Lytd v Dunkley and ors case, which had progressed to the Supreme Court.

The Kostal case saw Unite members, again represented by Thompsons Solicitors, successfully take legal action against their Rotherham-based employer for trying to bypass union pay negotiations

. This was a ground-breaking case, billed at the time as the most important trade union rights case in over a decade – and the first case in the UK’s highest court on trade union bargaining rights.

Mr Todd said: “This victory sends a clear message to employers. One, you won’t get away with issuing statements of intent to vary an employee’s pay and deem that offer accepted if the employee continues to work.

“And two, you can’t simply declare something to be “a final offer” to suggest collective bargaining is exhausted and then bypass the recognised trade union to make direct approaches to workers.

“We are delighted to build on our ground-breaking Kostal case. Both cases make clear the central role trade unions play in the workplace and should give comfort to union members up and down the country.”  

Unite says that the long-anticipated Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) judgment has huge ramifications for workers everywhere.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, said: “This is an important legal victory for Unite and the wider trade union movement.

“Employers everywhere should take note. Unite the union will use every tool at its disposal to defend collective bargaining and will not tolerate employers like INEOS trying to bypass their obligations to negotiate.”

INEOS FPS At Grangemouth rolls out AI to reduce emissions

  • INEOS FPS has committed to reduce emissions from its operations to Net Zero by 2045
  • INEOS has already made progress, with emissions reductions of 37% since it acquired the site in 2005
  • The deployment of innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology will further reduce emissions from its operations, demonstrating the company’s commitment to meeting UK/ Scottish Government targets

INEOS FPS has announced plans to deploy innovative Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven optimisation technology at its Kinneil Terminal in Grangemouth that will deliver further carbon emissions reductions from its operations.

The decision follows the announcement of INEOS’ commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its operations in Grangemouth by more than 60% by 2030 as it targets Net Zero by 2045. 

As part of its road map, the business is already making significant investments in emissions reduction projects at Grangemouth and deploying AI technology at Kinneil is another tool that will enable it to achieve the next phase of the transition to Net Zero.

Working with data analytics experts, OPEX Group, INEOS FPS will deploy the firm’s emissions.AI software, which optimises complex industrial facilities to deliver lower carbon emissions.

A real benefit emissions.AI will bring to INEOS’ systems is the way the tool calculates lowest achievable emissions; learning from the information received from hundreds of data points across our processes and always looking for what can be done better.

We believe that once the new software is fully integrated there is the potential to identify up to a 10% reduction in existing emissions – with further opportunities thereafter.

Opex Group’s emissions.AI software is leading edge technology. It will continuously monitor energy use across the Kinneil Terminal to pinpoint opportunities to minimise fuel and power consumption and further optimise plant operations. As well as having access to real time emissions data in greater detail the software will allow INEOS FPS’ operational teams to know when and where to optimise processes and plant for lower emissions.

Andrew Gardner, Chief Executive at INEOS FPS commented; “The installation of the emissions.AI software takes energy management to a new level, that will lead to significant CO2 savings.

“We are committed to delivering our roadmap to net zero and see technology as a key enabler to achieving our decarbonisation goals. Across our organisation we are embedding a culture of carbon awareness, including as part of daily operations. AI will assist our teams in unlocking immediate operational emissions savings by making emissions data instantly available to them.”

Chris Ayres, Chief Customer Officer at OPEX said: “We are delighted to support INEOS in their drive to reduce carbon emissions. Turning existing operational data into actionable emissions intelligence will give INEOS FPS’ teams access to the information they need to drive faster and better informed operational decisions, and get after day-to-day emissions savings opportunities.

“Data holds the key to empowering operations teams to contribute to decarbonisation targets. To gain a much deeper understanding of the emissions profile of their assets and identify the actions they can take to make a difference, today.”