WORKERS slammed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s “shameless opportunism” today as STUC delegates united to once again call for government intervention to save jobs, skills and secure a future for Grangemouth.

Speaking to his union’s motion at the final day of Congress in Dundee, Unite rep at Scotland’s former sole oil refinery Chris Hamilton accused politicians of an “appalling sell-out” which allowed PetroIneos’s closure plans to proceed.

“As I stand here, workers at Grangemouth — my friends and my colleagues — will walk out for the last time as over a century of oil refining comes to an end,” he said.

“‘It’s a private business, there’s nothing we can do, it’s a commercial decision’ — that’s what they’ve been telling us, and yet everything we called for has happened, just not at Grangemouth.

“We welcome the intervention at the steelworks at Scunthorpe. For us, this is not site versus site, or workers versus worker — for us it’s certainly not either/or.

“Yet that is exactly what this UK Labour government has done. They have supported one site while turning their back on another.”

In a blistering attack on Mr Sarwar, he continued: “They will point to the £200 million national wealth fund — in fact Anas Sarwar did so in this very room today — but let me put the record straight.

“Not one job of my colleagues, not one single job at that refinery will be saved through this intervention, so for Anas or anyone else to suggest otherwise is simply disgraceful.

“They are even trying to take credit for the redundancy deal negotiated between this union and the employer — shameless opportunism!

“At Grangemouth, we have become used to the endless peddling of rubbish from political leaders, ‘we would step in and save the jobs’ — do you remember that one?

“Those were the words of Anas Sarwar on national television. 

“He now seems to have forgotten what he said on Grangemouth, but let me say here today: the workers of Grangemouth, I can assure him, haven’t forgotten — nor will they forgive.

“Have others sat on their hands? Of course they have, and not least the Scottish government, but the reality is that Labour is now in charge.

“Are Labour going to sit on their hands, or will they finally stand up and keep Grangemouth working?”

The motion passed unanimously.