Trouble appears to be brewing again at Ineos’ mammoth Grangemouth complex in Scotland, three and half years after a labor dispute brought the site to the brink of closure. This time the disagreement is over wages, and the Swiss-based group has threatened to end collective bargaining – a move the union called “reckless.”

Following the forced end to a strike brought by the trade union Unite in autumn 2013, Grangemouth workers had to agree to a three-year wage freeze as part of a management-drafted “survival plan.” The plan also included a pledge by Ineos to invest £300m in a new ethane terminal at the site, to which the Scottish and British governments agreed to contribute. 

In recommencing pay talks with management, Unite pressed for a flat pay rise of 3.25%, but Ineos presented another, more complex plan. According to the still sketchy details, this foresees a 2.8% wage increase for newer workers and a 1.4% rise coupled with a lump sum payment for those employed longer. A source at Ineos told the British news channel BBC the group had also offered an additional bonus of up to 17%. Grangemouth management has not officially commented.

“After three years without a pay rise, there is bound to be difficult negotiations, but Unite's demand for a 3.25% rise is more than reasonable, and our intention remains to achieve a negotiated agreement,” a union spokesperson commented to BBC, adding: "We would encourage Ineos to think again and to row back from what is an unnecessary act of aggression towards their own workforce."

"If Ineos doesn't change its mind, we will simply go through the normal legal procedures, and push for an independent ballot of workers," the union's Scottish secretary, Pat Rafferty, said, adding: "We would encourage Ineos to think again and to row back from what is an unnecessary act of aggression towards their own workforce.”

Wages at the adjoining Grangemouth refinery, owned by a joint venture of Ineos and Petrochina, are not affected by the current negotiations.