‘Woefully inadequate’

Unite warned that the government’s Oil and Gas Workforce Plan, published today (July 6) was ‘woefully inadequate’ and fell short of arresting a decline in the industry which had led to over 120,000 jobs being axed.

Responding to the joint report by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Energy and Climate Change, Unite called for a summit of key industry figures and ministers from the Scottish and Westminster governments to hammer out an action plan to save the offshore oil and gas industry.

“The oil and gas workforce plan is woefully inadequate and fails to deal with the fundamental issues facing oil and gas workers and their industry,”  said Unite national officer Tony Devlin.

“The report doesn’t address the race to the bottom which we are seeing in pay, terms and conditions and safety while thousands of jobs are cut and livelihoods are turned upside down.

“The emphasis on managing decline, rather than arresting decline and putting the offshore oil and gas sector on a sustainable footing, is deeply disappointing,” Devlin added.

“We have had a lot of work going on through public bodies and various employer organisations, but we will not secure a future for the UK’s oil and gas industry unless key decision makers come together to formulate an action plan for the industry,” he went on to say.

“We call on key industry figures and senior politicians to come together with trade unions in a summit to address the challenges facing the oil and gas industry and take action to put it on a sustainable footing for the future.”