Exclusive:Workers to 'leave Scotland for England' due to 3,000 jobs Grangemouth refinery blow in 'spectacular failure'

Derek Thomson, the Scottish secretary of Unite the union, told The Scotsman that Scotland faces “sleepwalking into a jobs crisis” if skilled workers are not able to move from fossil fuels industries, including oil and gas, into green jobs that have long been promised.

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The anger comes after Petroineos confirmed that it will close down Scotland’s only oil refinery by next summer, with the loss of 400 direct jobs and almost 3,000 impacted.

But union bosses have been left frustrated after promises made by politicians during the election have resulted in “nothing but warm words and apologies”.

During the STV debate ahead of the general election, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar pledged his party would "step and put our money where our mouth is" at Grangemouth. He added that “we would put hundreds of millions of pounds behind it”.

But so far only £20 million of new money has been pledged between both governments.

Unite has been left so upset by the lack of action that it has withdrawn invitations to its Scottish policy conference this weekend to Mr Sarwar and First Minister John Swinney, with Mr Thomson warning “it’s not business as usual any more”.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Thomson insisted that politicians have “spectacularly failed” in ensuring the 400 jobs at Grangemouth are protected.

He said: “We would like to see the government take a transition stake in the refinery. That is where the government steps in for a period of time while those technologies come online.”

Mr Thomson stressed that “we're not talking about nationalisation”.

He added: “They could still step in. We are still going to be pushing that the refinery should be extended - we are talking about a couple of years.”

Unite believes that the government taking a “transition stake” in the Grangemouth refinery, as well as other under-threat sites such as Scotland’s two Harland and Wolff yards as the company descended into administration yesterday, and oil and gas infrastructure, would prolong the life of the jobs and prevent a cliff-edge for workers.

It is hoped that the intervention would allow technology to be developed that could help deliver the promised green jobs to replace those in fossil fuels industries, which are not yet there.

Mr Thomson warned that Grangemouth is simply “the tip of the iceberg of what is going to happen to oil and gas sites”, adding that if the closure goes ahead, the sector would largely be based around the North East and the Cromarty Firth, leading to “a decimation across central Scotland”.

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There are also fears that skilled workers could leave Scotland for England with Mr Thomson starkly warning the country could be “sleepwalking into a jobs crisis”.

If the refinery does close and is converted to an import terminal, Mr Thomson suggested that “Scotland is in danger of becoming a giant warehouse” and losing its key manufacturing industries.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Ministers have made clear their disappointment that Petroineos has made the commercial decision to cease refining at the site.

"Despite sustained and concerted efforts by both governments Petronineos have opted not to continue operations at the site for longer to allow a longer transition timeline for the workers."

Asked about the specific plans over a “transition stake” for Grangemouth, a UK government spokesperson referred to a press release issued two weeks ago when Petroineos confirmed the refinery would close.