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Murco decommissioning: ‘Someone is going to die’ say whistle-blowers

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THE WORKFORCE doing the risky job of decommissioning the former Murco oil refinery were left in shock on Friday (Oct 20), when 24 members of staff received redundancy letters in the post completely out of the blue.

Staff said that a few of them had “been through this before when Murco originally closed”, and “now we are living the same nightmare again”.

But some of the members of staff given the axe have taken the opportunity to get into contact with The Pembrokeshire Herald to blow the whistle poor working conditions and health and safety concerns at the site.

A number of those affected by the lay-offs, which have come just weeks before Christmas, said that they were promised work until October 2018 at the time they commenced work with Waste Recycling and Decommissioning Ltd (WRD) from Sheffield and REM Engineering (REM), which has ISO 9001 accreditation, based in Failsworth, near Manchester

One engineer got in touch with The Pembrokeshire Herald to offer his views following his dismissal. He said: “WRD and REM are a complete joke.

“The managers and supervisors would not even give us decent explanation as to why we were let go, and it was all done with no warning what so ever.
“The company then on Monday morning (Oct 23) had all Mobile Elevating Work Platforms and Scissor Lifts shut down by Nationwide Platforms as the bill has not been paid.”

Others have expressed dissatisfaction at the lack of proper equipment on the site as well as health and safety standards.

Mr David Beardow, Managing Director of REM told The Herald in a brief emailed statement that “due to a change in the project programme and reduced daylight hours”, that it had been “necessary to reduce the workforce and equipment.”

He did not expand as to what the change in the project programme was and added in no uncertain terms: “No further comments or statements will be issued.”

 ‘A NUMBER OF ACCIDENTS’

This newspaper was contacted by another member of staff, again this week, who said: “We are expected to work with the very minimum of equipment and most of this is broken or apparently on order. There have been a number of accidents which have just been brushed under the table due to a big accident earlier in the year where a local worker almost lost his life.
In an extraordinary email our source, who asked not to be named because of fears regarding future employment contracts added: “The site manager refers to us as ‘mongo farmers’ because we are Welsh, and he has, in my opinion, a total disregard towards health and safety. I personally have seen various health and safety failings which in my professional opinion may result in another an accident.”

The Herald was told: “This firm needs to be exposed as an unfit contractor to carry out the decommissioning of the former Murco refinery and Puma Energy needs to be made aware of this company’s short comings.”

The former employees’ warning was stark: “Plain and simple they are cowboys. Someone is going to die out there.”

Our source added: “The supervisors are labourers who have little or no experience in the oil and gas sector and have no clue what they are doing.

“We want answers and want to stop someone getting hurt on this job due to the company running it.
“We have been told that the client from Pakistan has not paid WRD or REM for six months or so, causing them cash flow problems.”

The Herald contacted Tony Fenwick, boss of WRD. The Managing Director told us on the telephone yesterday (Oct 26) that we should direct any questions to REM.

We asked REM the following question:  How many accidents have occurred on the former Murco site since decommissioning began? And how serious were any injuries? How many staff members required medical treatment? But REM refused to comment on this the brief statement they sent us, but did not attempt to deny that our sources were accurate in their very serious allegations.

PASSING THE BUCK

In May, Dyfed-Powys Police were investigating an industrial accident at the former refinery. A man was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the incident, which happened shortly after 9am on Wednesday, May 31.

The worker became trapped while assisting with the dismantling of the site, but at the time WRD was quick to disassociate itself with the incident, directing our inquiries to Puma Energy, the new owners of the site.

Speaking at the time, a police spokesman said: “Dyfed-Powys Police, jointly with Health and Safety Executive, is investigating an industrial accident at Puma Energy, Milford Haven.”

The Herald was in contact with the police yesterday (Oct 26), who said that further inquiries about the progress of the investigation should be directed to the Health and Safety Executive who are now taking a lead in the case.

The Health and Safety Executive have confirmed they are dealing with an active investigation.

Emma Deeny, Communications Manager for the regulator said: ““The HSE investigation into this incident is ongoing.

She added: “We cannot comment further at this time.”

It was confirmed in May that the injured party was a contractor working on behalf  WRD Ltd, and that the member of staff was not under the control of Puma Energy.

A spokesman for Puma Energy told The Herald at the time: “The incident was not on a working site under Puma Energy’s control, but was in the dismantling of the former refinery area within Milford Haven, which Puma Energy did not purchase. This is segregated from Puma Energy’s site by a fenced boundary and operates under its own safe systems of work.”

KEEPING SCHTUM

In relation to the redundancies, lack of equipment and health and safety concerns from staff, David Beardow, MD of REM also told this newspaper: “We will not comment on personal circumstances or commercial relationships.

“We have, and will continue to utilise local labour and suppliers.

“We continue to work with the local community and employ and provide comprehensive training for many employees from the Pembrokeshire area.

The statement from REM was short, lacked detail and disappointingly did not go any way to answer the serious allegations raised by former workers at the Murco site.

HEALTH AND SAFETY ‘CENTRAL’

On its website page REM Engineering paints a very professional image. The company states: “Health and safety is absolutely central to our business and you can be sure that when we are working on your premises or on your project, the safety of everyone involved is uppermost in our minds and in our processes.

“Our health and safety policy sets out responsibilities for managers, employees and sub-contractors so everyone knows what is required of them – and we provide continual health and safety training to help them achieve it.

“To assist us in putting our commitment to health and safety into action and maintaining the most rigorous standards, we use external auditors who visit our sites, unannounced; to check we are following procedures.

“Where we feel there is a need for a specialist response to the health and safety aspects of a particular project, we always call on the expert services of experienced consultants to support our own meticulous approach.

“We are proud of our teams’ safety track record on site. For larger projects where appropriate, we produce a comprehensive health and safety file.”

The website also boats: “We share risks and benefits; working together to trial and develop innovative solutions to service delivery to the benefit of our clients.”

  • Have you been unexpectedly been made redundant from the former Murco site? Are you able to give us more information – confidentially if you wish – which will help us develop this story? Please message us on Facebook. We always protect sources.

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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