Talks to end Grangemouth dispute

The Grangemouth refinery is Scotland's main fuel supplier

A new round of talks aimed at ending a dispute over pensions which resulted in the shutdown of Scotland's main fuel supplier have taken place.

Representative from the Unite trade union and Ineos, owners of the Grangemouth refinery, met on Friday.

The BBC understands there will be further talks between the two sides at the refinery over the next six weeks.

A 48-hour strike at the end of April also led to the closure of the Forties North Sea oil pipeline.

Since the strike, work has been continuing to restart the refinery, which is expected to be operating at full capacity next week.

In a statement issued on Friday, Ineos and Unite said: "Representatives of the company and Unite met today and agreed a series of meetings to discuss the current pension issue with a view to resolution."

The dispute began after Ineos said it could not sustain contributions to employees' pensions at previous rates.

Bosses had proposed 6% employee contributions, phased in over six years, while offering a different plan to new employees.

The issue prompted a twp-day strike by 1,250 workers at the plant, the first at any refinery in the UK for 73 years

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