A LAST-ditch appeal for the government to step in to help save the Coryton oil refinery in Essex was made at an emergency meeting on Thursday by the area’s Euro MP and workforce representatives with the Government and bankruptcy administrators.
The meeting took place on the day Coryton’s sister plant in Germany was successfully sold, which Essex Euro MP Richard Howitt warned could leave Britain as the only one of five European countries which fails to keep refineries affected by the bankruptcy open.
Labour’s Richard Howitt MEP joined Unite trade union representatives calling for the Government to buy shares as part of a rescue deal, and called for an impact statement to show the costs of closure outweigh the cost of keeping the refinery open.
Coryton’s oil refinery provides employment for more than 500 permanent staff and up to 500 contractors, and today’s meeting was the first since administrators Price Waterhouse said on Monday this week that attempts to maintain Coryton as a going concern had failed.
The news today that the Ingolstadt refinery in Germany will be sold means that three out of the five plants in Europe that were operated by the bankrupt Petroplus parent company have now found buyers, whilst the Government in France has provided £16million as part of a six month-deal to maintain operations while a buyer is found.
Labour’s Richard Howitt MEP said,
“Today there was some very tough talking around the table, where I joined workforce representatives to plead with government to provide state aid to make a deal to save the refinery still possible.
“The news earlier today that the former Petroplus refinery in Germany is to be sold means that three out of five of the bankrupt company’s refineries in Europe are already saved, with the French plant given millions of pounds of their government’s money to stay open.
“Coryton is the biggest, highest quality and most efficient of the five refineries in Europe, and it is a telling indictment of our British Government that only they have failed.
“The administrators told us with their own lips that an equity arrangement by Government could still be a sound basis to strike a deal with interested parties.
“When they do the sums they’ll be forced to admit that the costs of the extra unemployment outweigh a temporary investment, which in the long-run would see the government get more than their money back.
“The time to do so is now.”
Regarding the title of this article, the Germans can save their plant due to much stricter union and employee laws than we have in the UK which helps in these situations.
Whilst I agree with sentimest of Richard Howitt and if the refinery is indeed still a profitable concern then why can’t the UK govenment provide a bail out like they did with the banks, however; a full review of the palnt needs to be taken to ensure that this would eb a going concern if money was given, we don’t want to throw money at something that at the end of the day woul continue to lose financially.
Yes its money above jobs as usual.
jmw118, what is the point of keeping a plant open if it is operationally defunct, not saying that this one is, do you expect public money to be continually thrown at private ventures just to maintain employment figures regardless of how much this would require year on year to continue operating?
Your view is typical of the Union stance that was around in the 70’s , not saying that you are like that but that is how your comment seems.
Lambo, surely apart from the cost on society of unemployment benefit, and with even the increase in crime related problems due more pressure on family life. For people being able to work in a decent job, is better than always looking for increased profits.
jmw118, I agree, however, I am not saying that it should be increased profits but at least break even rather than throwing good money after bad, again, I do not know the full financial situation of this plant and whether it is a going concern or was no longer financially viable to remain open, hence the shortage of potential buyers.
I do feel for those that work at the plant and the loss of their jobs but unfortunatley we live in very hard economic times where public money is probably better placed in supporting the social system rather than bailing out private firms.
Lambo, I would love to be a fly on the wall if you ever had to explain your points of view to the workers who are losing their jobs!
This refinery made 150 million profit last year while all other refiners where making a lost. It has kept the other 5 rind inert in the petroplus group alive for the last 6 years but our government are not interested in keeping our jobs they just say its not our problem. Even the French government stepped in to save their. This year alone we made a profits of around 35 million a month gross. It was a very profitable company but someone did not want it as a refinery any more. Something very doggy behind the scene for this to go down as even the MP and EMP wanted it saved!
I will bet you, that in 6 months Shell will own that land and make it into a terminal so they don’t have to pay type to anyone and the government get their supply deal from holland. More British workers out of work.
Tupe not type
Fester, if that is indeed the case and the refinery is a profitable concern then I strongly belive that a rescue package should be put in place or a buyer sought.
Interesting looking into the other plants being saved – the main reason once the recession is over the plants will be needed! Closing them could put up fuel at the pump in future as well thus the French reason the cost is worth it even in a period of great austerity for their new Govt. Production in France restarts on June 14th.
Edmund King, AA president, said: ‘The tragedy is not only the loss of a refinery and jobs in an industry which produces some of the cheapest petrol in Europe but the question mark it raises with the UK’s fuel supply resilience during bad winters and industrial action. The UK’s fuel industry is extremely adept at shifting fuel supplies around the UK, but Coryton’s loss makes that task more difficult.’
The prospects thus on econmic recovery are higher fuel prices.
Govt considerv mothballing the plant now and please not a new Logistics plant for Shell Haven. We need to manufacture and export not Import!