21/10/2013 Reporting Scotland

Tonight, on Reporting Scotland. The future of Grangemouth. The Unite

union claims a majority of its members have rejected the deal on

offer from management. An age old girl is recovering in

hospital after being attacked by two bulldogs, parents are still in

shock. One minute she was out being, then she was screaming, help me.

That is all I remember. Also tonight, getting ready for winter,

remember these scenes? The Scottish Government wants us to make sure we

are prepared for anything in the coming months.

Dutch champions Ajax arriving Glasgow ahead of tomorrow night's

Champions League match against Celtic. I have let my country down,

I have let everyone I have trained with down. And from an Olympic low,

to gold at the European Judo Open, Euan Burton sets his sights on the

Commonwealth Games. In the last half-hour, that deadline

has passed for workers at the Grangemouth refinery to accept or

reject sweeping changes to their pay and conditions. The company that

owns the plant insists radical cost-cutting measures are needed, or

it will close. Within the last few minutes, the Unite union has claimed

that most union members have rejected the company's offer. For

the union members on-site, city 5% of them have rejected this offer. --

65%. 665 opt out forms came to us direct, rejecting the offer. It is a

clear message, to go back to the company and say the workforce has

spoken, they have expressed their views. David Henderson is at

Grangemouth. Is the situation any clearer? Well, what is clearer is

that the management have not won the first round of this battle, by a

knockout. In the last half are, at deadline expired, it was a deadline

that was set by management for the 1350 staff here at Grangemouth, and

it was along these lines. It said, you must accept major changes to

your pay and pensions, otherwise this plant does not have a future.

300 or so members of staff, it seems, have got back in touch with

the company and accepted the need for major changes, however, the

union have now said that 65 said of their membership, around half of all

the staff -- six to 5%, have rejected a plan, they say the union

and management should know sit down and have more talks. -- 65%. It is

up to the owners of Grangemouth to make up their minds about what they

now plan to do about this. In the meantime, the plant remains closed

and it is losing tens of thousands of pounds every day.

The stakes are high and with every hour, they are rising. Today, we

took to the air, to see for ourselves the effects of this

shutdown. The flame stacks may still burn, but do not be fooled,

Grangemouth is not working. From up here, you can see the sheer scale of

the complex and what is at stake. The refinery produces up to 9

million litres of fuel every day, that is enough for the forecourts of

the North of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland combined. The

petrochemical plant produces up to 2 million tonnes of chemicals every

year. For workers at Grangemouth like Scott Sibson, this is a

difficult moment, choice, perhaps, the dream a loss of pay and the

threat of redundancy. I have been quite downbeat. A lot of people are

quite worried, understandably. The choice between signing a contract in

45 days or losing your job. So what does the future hold for the plant

at its workforce? The owners warn that I must pay and pensions change,

there is no future and the plant will close in a few years time. What

we are looking for is for the employees to give a real message

both to the shareholders and also to the unions, they do not want to

strike, we want the plan to be up and running and they want a sensible

period of discussion between now and the end of the consultation.

Tomorrow, the owners will decide their next step, but both sides want

progress, on their own terms, and that has already created a crisis.

Well, our business and economy editor Douglas Fraser joins me now.

What is the process now? It goes over to the company to counter

responses, they are not really looking for majority. They are

looking for which part of the complex have voted either way, how

many from the refinery and also across the road in the petrochemical

plant. Then tomorrow, the shareholders will consider the

results, whether they think opinion is shifting their way, it will take

advice and hear from bondholders, who funded the expansion of INEOS,

it is a Chinese company, they have half the refinery, they have half

the say in that. I am told this group may not decide tomorrow, the

could take several days to reach a decision. -- they could. They have

widened their options, it is important to note that over the

weekend, the threat level increased. Jim Ratcliffe, who controls INEOS,

said if the petrochemical plant closes, and that has been under

threat for a couple of weeks, the neighbouring refinery is likely to

also do so. If the shutdown continues, the owners of the plant

may not be willing to continue funding it. This is an entrenched

and increasingly bitter dispute, who is driving it? The key figure is Jim

Rash Cliff, who set up INEOS just 15 years ago, -- Jim Rash Cliff. He is

already a billionaire with a lot of debt. He has grown at to ?27 billion

per year. He is based in Switzerland, for tax reasons. He has

shown himself to be pretty ruthless about cost-cutting. Clearly,

Grangemouth is a big deal for Scotland and the Scottish economy,

it is a big plant for him as well, with very high stakes. He wants to

persuade unions he is not afraid to abandon them.

An eight-year-old girl who was attacked by two bulldogs will have

to spend eight weeks in hospital to recover from serious facial and leg

wounds. Broagan McEwing was mauled when she was playing in government.

-- McCuaig. When Broagan went to play with her

friends in her own garden, she thought she was safe and secure. But

she was subjected to a ferocious attack neighbour's to American

bulldogs. Her got there in time to see the dog striking Broagan along

the ground. The worst day of my life. It was terrible. It was

horrible. Just think, one minute she was screaming, help me! That is all

I remember. Broagan has had two operations over the weekend and

doctors say she now faces an eight week stay in hospital to recover.

Her facial injury is healing well, but she will need more muscle and

skin grafts on her leg. Her mum says she has been traumatised. She keeps

asking if the dogs are away. She thinks they are still in that house.

We have to reassure her there is nothing there. That they had been

taken away by the police. She just keeps... Obviously, she is getting

flashbacks. Is terrified. We are just getting her through it. Her mum

and dad are disgusted and angry that their daughter has had to go through

all this. I am really angry. Nobody should have these dogs, they are for

farms, but people -- for people with fields. These dogs are to bring down

beers and cattle. Not for a block of flats. -- bears. The flat belonging

to the owners of the dogs have been boarded up and neighbours say they

have moved out. The lease have confirmed a man and a woman have

been charged. But for Broagan's family, the just concentrating on

helping her get better. She was being a bit cheeky to me, so I think

she is coming back, slowly. She is getting there. I am really proud of

her, she is so brave. You're watching Reporting Scotland

from the BBC. Still to come on the programme...

The loneliness of the long-distance swimmer, still three weeks to his

destination. In sport, we will hear from the Celtic and Ajax camps ahead

of the Champions League cash in Glasgow, and a year on from his

emotional exit at the Olympics, Euan Burton is back on the podium and

ready to represent the Scottish judo team at the Commonwealth Games.

In the last week, we told you how councils need to make further

savings and could cut hundreds of jobs. Instead of just curtailing

services, many local authorities are looking at how they can change the

way these services are provided. Jamie McIvor has been assessing some

of the options. There is more to making savings than simply making

cuts. We know the austerity for councils will continue for several

more years, and most expect to have to make substantial savings. These

are just some. The challenge is a big one and there are a couple of

reasons for that, the squeeze on public spending is set to continue

while the UK Government tackles the deficit, and demand for some

services is set to keep on rising, for instance, because the population

is growing older. As well as cuts, many councils are also looking at

how to reform social -- local services. Afternoon tea for some

pensioners, provided by a charity, helped and supported by the council.

It is great, because it is something to look forward to. We do not fully

get out much. -- really. I used to be able to do things and I -- and

now I can't. The idea of schemes like this is the

keep healthy and more active. Regardless of

They see their friends and get involved

keeps them mentally and physically well. Most people agree that

so-called early intervention is a good thing, the problem is, councils

cannot abandon the people who need urgent help now, so savings take

time. A few miles away, there is another big plan for change. To

councils in Ayrshire are set to merge the roads departments. -- two

councils. This will take ten years, we will reduce management costs and

admin costs, so we will be able to deliver the services be currently

deliver, and these will be done at a lesser cost. It will not be the

have shared just one roads agency, but across the country, there has

been far less progress towards dazzles sharing services than some

have predicted. -- towards councils. Where

see several is that several councils in the West work closely

simply fizzled out. While changing the way local services are delivered

might prove to be better money over time, the problem is,

councils need to save cash quickly. It can take years for reforms to

bring about big savings, but now.

Now a word about a special evening with Gary Robertson.

The Dunfermline by-election Thursday. Tonight I will hear from

the candidates Dunfermline's next MSP. What to do

about Grangemouth, Cannes of cuts, local schools and your

opinions about the referendum. -- council

Proposed changes to teachers' working conditions have been

rejected by members of Scotland's largest teachers' union, the EIS.

Members voted against the proposals by 59% to 41%. The union says it'll

seek talks with employers and the Government before it decides what

happens next. One of the Royal Navy's Sea King

search and rescue helicopters had to be rescued at the weekend. The crew

made an emergency landing in just over a week ago. A Chinook

helicopter Glencoe village before it was taken

back to its Ayrshire base A four-day Public Local Inquiry

starting today into a ahead because the development is

unlawful, say campaigners. Last Session ruled a proposed wind farm

in Shetland was unlawful electricity generating licence.

Some whisky distillers in Scotland are bringing in

area, and all the latest news, 24 hours a day on BBC Scotland's

website. Pellet only be seven months since Arran and Argyllshire were cut

off by skilful? The nights are drawing in and ahead of the clocks

going back this weekend, the Scottish Government has launched its

Ready for Winter campaign. Cameron Buttle reports.

When Scotland looks this majestic, it is hard to think of deals,

storms, snow and subzero tempters. But when the leaves start falling,

winter is calling. It is easy to forget that only a few months ago,

some parts of Scotland looked like this. One predictable thing is that

it will be unpredictable. We have to prepare for the worse, whether that

is high winds, the extreme low temperatures which stayed with us

for a long period of time, things like the snow train which cleared

snow from the lines of the icebreaker for the roads, making

sure we have the salt stocks in place, all these things have been

learned from previous years. It is hard to plan for whether this

severe, but flooding buzzes misery and millions of pounds worth of

damage. In the Borders, a new scheme offers cheaper protection. We have a

disposable sandbag, when water reacts with it, it turns into gel.

We use that inside a property. We have the event or is, different

types of them. We can stop what are entering. Finally, we have the

floodgate, which we can use to prevent what are entering through

the front door. The message from the experts is that simple steps can

save a lot of grief later. The biggest tip would make sure your

tyres are legal. Make sure you can see where you're going, make sure

your windscreen wipers are in good working order and the clear the

windscreen Poly. If you must travel when the weather is broke, have the

right equipment and plan ahead. You can have what in the house, you can

have a radio, portable radio you can listen to with spare batteries, and

you can have a torch and a mobile phone available, just to make sure

you will not be at risk. Now is the time to take those simple steps,

before winter takes hold. Now, it is a truly incredible

journey, an adventurer from Gloucestershire is more than 100

days into his bid to be the first person to swim from Land's End to

John O'Groats. Today, Sean Conway is off the Sutherland coast. As soon as

people to me I was going to die, I thought I would prove them wrong. A

veteran of Iron Man events, Sean Conway clearly has adventurer in his

blood. But a saltwater swim more than 1000 miles was a tall order,

even for him. I am not naturally a strong swimmer, so doing swimming

challenge was quite tough for me. I am not really good with the call.

All those things came together. No one else has tried it. Because of

the effect of sea water on his mouth, Sean cannot chew any more and

has to liquidise most of his food. The rigours of days afloat are a

challenge for his support team as well. Physically it has been OK,

because I am not going at a really fast pace. But my back and arms from

paddling everyday, I can feel it, but you cannot complain when there

is summing -- someone swimming next year. Sean admits he has found

Scotland bigger than he thought. Today he is close to the coast of

Sutherland. But even the odd injury will not stop his charity swim. The

doctors say I should not lose this to. I have to watch if the blue

starts going up my leg! You will sell more books if your total falls

off, write? -- if your total falls off. Time for the sports news.

Celtic will be without Chris, and for tomorrow night's Champions

League match against Ajax in Glasgow. Celtic are bottom of group

H. There is a lack of creativity within the squad when it comes to

Champions League level. Unlike training session ahead of tomorrow

night's games. With no points so far, does manager Neil Lennon feel

when it's crucial? No, we must not get beat. I am confident this team

can perform away from home as well. Winning the game would put us in a

good position in the group. Losing the game would lose our aspirations

for trying to qualify. Bobby Petta feels there is something missing in

creating opportunities at Champions League level. I think they lack

creativity in my opinion. In midfield, and perhaps on the wing as

well. Just that bit of magic. Players cost a lot of money. But we

are doing our best with the personnel that we have two not only

create chances, but not throw them away. We created plenty on Saturday,

we should have won the game. The Dutch giants arrived in Glasgow this

lunchtime in confident mood. Celtic fans will be hoping it is their

players who rise to the occasion. Well, Ajax are, as we speak,

training at Celtic Park. Before they got a taste of the stadium, their

manager Frank De Boer spoke to the media. To be in the second place,

you want to play for a second place, and the best is to win this game.

Two maybe not secure, but to have a good position for the third-place,

it is nice to win, but to lose is the worst option.

Euan Burton says he would love to pull on the judo kit for Scotland if

he's selected for next year's Commonwealth Games. And he believes

he's put himself in contention for being picked with recent results,

including winning Gold at this weekend's Judo European Open. Here's

Heather Dewar. 15 months ago, his world was

shattered with defeat at the London Olympics. I let my mum and dad and

my brother down. I have been working for this for over quarter of a

century. I am pretty sure you do not see me in Rio de Janeiro. But time

is a healer, and they could see him at Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He

has moved up a weight level. It is providing positive results. He is in

contention for Commonwealth selection now. If they see fit to

select me know, I would love to go and put on the judo kit for

Scotland, for the first time in my career. It has been Great Britain

for the rest of my senior career. If he did, he would have to compete on

the same day as English wife Gemma Gibbons. My father has said she will

bring both flights to the venue. -- flags.

His Commonwealth quest has begun. Well done to him.

Now it's time for a look at some of the other stories in Scottish sport.

Edinburgh Rugby's Grant Gilchrist hopes his side's Heineken Cup

performances will help them kick on in the league. Despite defeat to

Perpignan yesterday, they've shown an improvement in form. We have

enjoyed our two weeks in the Heineken Cup. It is always an

exciting time playing European cups. But we have got a point to prove in

the league. I can't wait to get out there on Friday night.

Glasgow captain Al Kellock said the side were delighted with their 20

points to 16 win over Exeter. But admits they were disappointed to

allow their opponents a bonus point. There's been high demand for

Commonwealth Games tickets as those who missed out last time have

another chance to try again. Organisers are asking for patience.

Kilmarnock's Rabiu Ibrahim has been undergoing more tests after he

collapsed during his side's win over Ross County. Airdrieonians are

looking for a new manager after Jimmy Boyle left the club. The

Scottish League One side are at the foot of the table after four defeats

from their last five games. And there are more sports stories,

plus all the latest news, 24 hours a day on BBC Sport Scotland's website.

Let's get the weather now. Nothing wintry in the weather this

week, but autumn is giving us a lot of food for thought. A lot of

whether going on this week. Very wet and very windy. It was a mild start

and it will be mild once again to model. But really wet and windy.

Let's take a look at the satellite picture. A blanket of cloud across

the country. There is a band of rain just to the north of the Forth Clyde

Valley. We do have a Met Office yellow warning in force. We can see

that being continues to work its way northwards this evening and

overnight. It is accompanied by fresh to strong southerly winds. But

it will be a mild night with temperatures of ten of 11 Celsius.

It does mean a wet or windy start to Tuesday. Some difficult conditions

on the roads and the potential for some flooding Britain the warnings

are in force. But drier and brighter conditions work their way in from

the south, 15 or 16 degrees, quite mild for the time of year. Showers

taking their time to clear the north of the country. But the Moray caused

could see 17 or 18 degrees. -- Murray coursed Moray coast.

Wednesday looks like a showery day. And those showers could merge at

times to give longer spells of rain. The further east you are, it is not

exactly dry, but the showers will not be as frequent honours heavy.

Breezy at times. Temperatures of 13 or 14 degrees. Dryer for Thursday,

but rain returning on Friday. Our top story this evening.

Britain's first nuclear power station in a generation gets the

go-ahead. A couple have appeared in court in

Greece charged with the abduction of a four-year-old girl. She was found

during a raid on a Roma camp last week. DNA tests have shown she was

not related to the couple. And that is Reporting Scotland so

far this evening. I will be back at eight o'clock. Good night.