New Agreement for North Sea Workers Inches Closer

The potential to establish a ground breaking new collective agreement for thousands of engineering and maintenance workers in the North Sea moved a step closer this week.

That’s what UK union RMT said in a statement posted on its website on Thursday, adding that a total of 15 “major” contractors from the energy sector supply chain had confirmed their support for a deal with RMT, Unite and GMB unions involved.

“The news that 15 major employers have committed to work with the unions in the establishment of a framework for collective bargaining in the offshore energy sector is extremely encouraging,” RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said in an organization statement.

“The collaborative working of the trade unions and industry is an illustration of what is required to deliver a just and green recovery for workers and the UK energy supply chain. What we want to see now is government support for this exemplar in collaboration,” he added in the statement.

“If successful this new ‘Energy Services Agreement’ will be ground breaking, a first of its kind for the UK energy sector. This would be an historic event for a sector which has seen boom and bust cycles causing extreme difficulties for workers and employers alike over the last decade … Stability, sustainability and security of employment for the sector are critical and this deal could deliver,” Cash went on to state.

RMT describes itself as Britain’s largest specialist transport trade union. The union has more than 83,000 members from almost every sector of the transport industry, according to its website.

More than 300,000 jobs are currently supported in the UK by oil and gas production, industry body Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) outlines on its site. Back in April, however, OGUK warned that up to 30,000 jobs could be lost in the sector within the next 12-18 months.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com