Controversial fracking could secure the future of the Grangemouth industrial plant, it has been claimed.
The complex came close to shutting down last week until an 11th hour reprieve secured by workers. It was stated in parliament the dispute shows the need for domestic shale gas production.
Conservatives urged Finance Secretary John Swinney to embrace shale as he updated the Scottish Parliament on the bitter wrangle between plant owners Ineos and the Unite union.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: “The Grangemouth petrochemical plant’s future will depend on the importation of huge quantities of shale gas across the Atlantic from the US.”
A domestic source of the gas, extracted through the “fracking” process, may help secure the plant’s future, he said at Holyrood.
Mr Swinney said the Scottish Government position “is clear” in that any fracking propositions will be dealt with through the “legislative and planning framework”.
The giant petrochemical site was rescued from closure on Friday, safeguarding hundreds of jobs and heralding a “bright future” for the local community.
The owner’s reversal of its decision to axe the plant followed acceptance by the Unite union of a survival plan for the business, including a three-year pay freeze, ending of the final salary pension scheme and other changes to terms and conditions.
Mr Swinney raked over the twists and turns of the dispute in a statement at the Scottish Parliament and said the local economy had suffered.
“Many of those businesses recounted negative short-term impacts as a consequence of the closure of the plant for just a few days,” he said.
“Guest houses no longer filled with contractors, tool hire firms with little or no work, maintenance companies with no active plant to maintain. In just a few short days, the significant impact of the plant closure was felt very directly in the locality.”
The Scottish Government was praised by opposition parties for its handling of the dispute.
Labour MSP Iain Gray, the former party leader at Holyrood, said: “To secure what we all hope is a bright future for the Grangemouth plant and refinery from a point when its closure and the loss of thousands of jobs looked inevitable was a great result.
“Scottish ministers, not least the cabinet secretary, and their UK Government colleagues deserve much credit for working together, refusing to accept the closure and shepherding the negotiations to a positive outcome.
“Above all, though, we have to recognise the painful sacrifices the workforce have made in reductions to terms and conditions to save not just their own jobs but also many thousands of jobs in the supply chain and the value of the plant to the Scottish economy and the local economy in the Falkirk area.”
Meanwhile, Falkirk MP Eric Joyce said the Labour party is protecting Unite leader, Stevie Deans, who was at the centre of the row. Mr Deans, the convener of the union in Scotland and local Labour party chairman, resigned on Monday, claiming he is being treated as the “enemy within”.
He was being probed by Ineos over allegations he used company time for political campaign work, leading to a strike threat and the subsequent closure crisis.
He was also accused of trying to rig the selection process for a new Falkirk Labour candidate.
Mr Joyce said: “The Labour party, because it will not allow people to elect a new chair, is effectively keeping Deans in place, and I think it’s to some degree because of a substantial amount of fear inside the Labour leadership of the Unite leadership.”
The union’s chief of staff, Andrew Murray, said Mr Joyce had misread the situation and there was “no evidence” that “anything untoward” had happened.