{"id":2049,"date":"2014-10-29T15:39:08","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T15:39:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=2049"},"modified":"2014-10-29T15:39:08","modified_gmt":"2014-10-29T15:39:08","slug":"offshore-safety-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=2049","title":{"rendered":"Offshore safety crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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When 20 workers have died in only the past five years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as a result of two separate accidents, involving the same helicopter model \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d think government officials would want to get to the bottom of it all.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut the UK government responded to a call for a full public inquiry into helicopter safety in the North Sea with a resounding \u00e2\u20ac\u0098no\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on Monday (October 27), saying there was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bno evidence to suggest that UK operations are any less safe than operations conducted by other states, particularly Norway.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty condemned the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s statements, which he called \u00e2\u20ac\u015babsolutely scandalous.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government states UK operations are as safe as our Norwegian counterparts who have not had one fatality as a result of helicopter transfers since 1997, yet the UK has suffered 38 deaths in the same timeframe, with 20 in the last five years alone,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t suggest a safety problem then I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t what does.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nNorwegian \u00e2\u20ac\u015bgold standard\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nIn the initial transport committee report which called for greater helicopter safety measures and a public inquiry, Unite and the RMT pointed to Norway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s high-calibre safety standards that they assert, had these standards been in place in the UK, would have prevented helicopter accidents in the past five years, including two fatal ones in 2009 and 2013.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe report described Norway\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s occurrence reporting culture, in which any incident which may endanger aircraft, its occupants, or any other person is duly reported. Although the UK has had such a reporting procedure in place decades before Norway instituted theirs, Norway much more diligently uses it.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe report also pointed to the way in which helicopter accidents are assessed in Norway as compared to the UK.<\/p>\n

 
\nAndrew Waterson, professor of health effectiveness at Stirling University said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith helicopter pilots the Norwegians would not view problems such as \u00e2\u20ac\u0098pilot error\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 being disconnected from the harsh physical and sometimes economic environment and pressures the pilots need to operate within.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bHence Norwegian solutions to certain \u00e2\u20ac\u0098pilot errors\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 would focus on the environment rather than on \u00e2\u20ac\u0098individual\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 failure,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 
\nShattered confidence<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nFollowing the 2013 Sumburgh crash, in which a Super Puma helicopter plunged into the sea off the south Shetland coast, killing four passengers and injuring 14, Unite officials in Scotland organised the Get Back Home Safe campaign, aimed at preventing future accidents and restoring confidence in the offshore workforce.<\/p>\n

 
\nA Unite survey carried out as part of the campaign asked 1,100 offshore workers about helicopter safety. A strong majority \u00e2\u20ac\u201c 53 per cent \u00e2\u20ac\u201c said they were not confident in helicopter safety, especially in the Eurocopter Super Puma fleet.<\/p>\n

 
\nA full 77 per cent also said their confidence in helicopter safety had decreased significantly in the previous 12 months following three ditches in 2012 and 2013, including the fatal Sumburgh crash.<\/p>\n

 
\nIn response to the survey, Unite regional industrial officer Tommy Campbell said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe results reinforce what the oil and gas industry already knows and needs to address: worker confidence in offshore helicopter safety has been shattered.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe industry needs to evolve with its environment,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWith twenty fatalities in the last four years there should be a moral obligation to act on the concerns of its most important resource \u00e2\u20ac\u201c its people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nCommercial pressure<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 
\nWhen the government responded to the transport committee\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s recommendations, it noted it had not found \u00e2\u20ac\u015bany evidence to suggest safety is being compromised as a result of commercial pressure from the industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 but Unite regional industrial organiser John Taylor contends otherwise.<\/p>\n

 
\nWhen he gave evidence to the transport committee in January, he told the committee members how he had received a barrage of emails from workers who wanted to express concern about helicopter safety but asked not to be named.<\/p>\n

 
\nTaylor explained the fear from offshore workers acting under commercial pressure.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bEveryone says you can refuse to do the job,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told the committee. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs trade union officials we represent people who have refused to do the job and then they are suddenly dismissed.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe argument is do you get the oil out safely or safely get the oil out?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he asked. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat’s the first bit, is it safety or the contract? And I believe that commercial pressure is operating in the industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nThe transport committee report noted an incident after the 2013 crash in which oil company Total shockingly told its workers concerned about safety to put on their \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbig boy pants\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 or else quit if they couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t deal with the risks of operating helicopters.<\/p>\n

 
\nAfter hearing the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to summarily reject any further inquiry into the matter, victims\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families from the 2013 crash said they were \u00e2\u20ac\u015bhorrified\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 at the injustice. Solicitors representing the families said they would continue to fight the decision.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will be working with [Labour MP] Frank Doran, the victims\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families, and Unite, and we will all be heading to Westminster to campaign against this decision,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said one of the solicitors.<\/p>\n

 
\nRafferty emphasised the importance of having a full public inquiry, saying it would \u00e2\u20ac\u015ballow a much needed forensic analysis of why we repeatedly encounter these problems with helicopter transfers.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe UK government has turned its back on the 3,000 workers who supported our Back Home Safe campaign,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When 20 workers have died in only the past five years \u00e2\u20ac\u201c as a result of two separate accidents, involving the same helicopter model \u00e2\u20ac\u201c you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d think government officials would want to get to the bottom of it all.   But the UK government responded to a call for a full public inquiry into helicopter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2050,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[143],"wps_subtitle":"Government denies a public inquiry on helicopter safety","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2049"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2051,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2049\/revisions\/2051"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}