June 29, 2012:

HUNDREDS of workers at Coryton will be made redundant by the end of July after the oil refinery’s closure was officially confirmed. The news that workers feared came on Tuesday when administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the site’s sale had been agreed. The refinery will become an import terminal, jointly run by Royal Vopak, Greenergy and Shell UK Ltd. Administrators said the change of use was due to ‘insufficient interest from the oil industry and financial investors in acquiring the business as an operational refinery’. Refining at the plant stopped earlier this month. PwC spokeswoman Elizabeth Faulkner said the site would be running on a ‘skeleton staff’ from August. She said staff who escaped redundancy would be involved in a ‘make safe programme’. Administrators are currently removing all crude oil and refined products from the site. PricewaterhouseCoopers was unable to confirm whether workers might receive full pensions. The union Unite said concerns over pensions was ‘deeply worrying’. Spokesman Alex Flynn said: “We would fight any attempt or move which would see workers lose out on their pensions.

“We will resist any attempt to rob people of their pension.” One hundred and eighty staff were due to go yesterday with those remaining gone by September. Co-administrator Steven Pearson said: “Ultimately, the Administrators have a legal responsibility to achieve the best price possible for the assets and we have been able to obtain the highest price by selling the site for an alternative use. “We recognise that the closure results in the redundancy of the majority of the employees at Coryton and we intend to work with the local agencies and authorities to provide assistance during this difficult time.” A job fair was held at Coryton yesterday morning (Tuesday) to help workers look for new employment. The sale would be completed after the safe and successful closure of the refinery. The process is set to take several months. Beyond the summer, a ‘small number’ of employees and contractors will remain on-site to provide security. The majority of workers will be gone by August.

By YellowAdvertiser