Around 200 workers at a petrochemical plant in Fife have downed tools due to concerns over health and safety, with calls for the government to step in over potential environmental issues.
A union said its members at ExxonMobil's site at Mossmorran, near Cowdenbeath, were aware of alarm systems which are not working in areas at the petrochemical plant and workers not being notified of this, as well as being unaware of any procedures put in place to protect them.
A functioning alarm system is required by law in the event of any leakages, blasts or exposure to hazardous materials and chemicals.
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Unite said around 200 workers at the Fife ethylene plant had withdrawn their labour in protest, under the terms of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
That act gives employees the right to withdraw from and to refuse to return to a workplace that is unsafe, without facing punitive measures such as wage deductions.
However, Unite alleged ExxonMobil and contractors on site were refusing to pay its members.
Its members at ExxonMobil’s plant are employed on construction engineering maintenance contracts and they are split between different contractors at the plant: Altrad, Bilfinger, and Kaefer.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite will robustly defend the legal right of our members to withdraw their labour over health and safety concerns at ExxonMobil’s Mossmorran plant. It is completely unacceptable that the company and the various contractors on site are refusing to pay our members their wages.
"This is a legal duty and not open to interpretation. Our members will be receiving their union’s unflinching support.”
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Unite is also calling on the Health and Safety Executive to launch an immediate investigation into the claims made by the workers at the plant.
It said there had been various recorded incidents at the site over safety, the risk of pollution and environmental damage.
Bob MacGregor, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite’s members working for Altrad, Bilfinger, and Kaefer at the Mossmorran plant are rightly furious at potentially being exposed to dangerous chemicals due to failings in the plant’s safety procedures.
“To add insult to injury, ExxonMobil and the contractors are refusing to pay the wages of the workers following the withdrawal of labour on health and safety grounds.
"This is not an isolated incident, these safety breaches and failings have been ongoing for around a year and nothing to date has been resolved.
"That’s why Unite is calling for the Health and Safety Executive to urgently intervene due to the seriousness of the claims, and the chequered history of the plant.”
A spokesperson for ExxonMobil said: "We are aware of unofficial action instigated by a small number of individuals employed by contracting companies on our site.
"There is no impact on our operations, which continue as normal.
"Fife Ethylene Plant operates in full compliance with approved site safety standards and procedures.’’
A HSE spokesperson said: “We are aware of safety-related concerns being raised by union and employee representatives onsite. We are now making enquiries with the site operator.”
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