Unite launches campaign to protect North Sea jobs
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The Unite Scotland union has launched a campaign to protect jobs amid the global slump in oil demand.
As economic activity slowed around the world in the wake of Coronavirus the price of North Sea Oil slumped last month to its lowest level for 18 years.
The trade union states that tens of thousands of jobs in the offshore sector are under threat.
Last month Unite helped prepare a report titled "A crisis behind a crisis".
This highlighted that upwards of 3500 workers are immediately at risk through redundancies or furloughing by September.
That was was followed by warnings from the sector’s trade body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) that over the next 18 months up to 30,000 jobs could be lost.
The Save Off-Shore (SOS) jobs campaign launched today involves the distribution of thousands of electronic postcards to union members so they can make direct contact with MPs and MSPs.
The union wants to gain support from politicans for several key measures.
These include:
- Direct state investment in the sector via low cost loans to operators. This will make the Government "equity partners" in any future operations;
- OGUK and the Government to at once honour and speed up their 'Roadmap to 2035' commitment to maintain North Sea employment at 135,000 jobs;
- Proper collective bargaining with unions now and when transitioning to greener industries.
Unite Scottish Secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: "Nobody should be under any illusions that a potential catastrophe is facing tens of thousands of workers over the coming 18 months unless swift government action occurs to stabilise the sector.
"Our campaign will be driven by thousands of Unite members who will directly take our demands to members of parliament both at Holyrood and Westminster through electronic postcards.
"All politicians will be judged on how they can support the livelihood of our members as action is required now."
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