Union vows to hold politicians to account for failures to protect jobs and communities
Oil and gas workers have today (23 March) launched a campaign to demand protection for union jobs and the communities those jobs sustain from Scottish politicians ahead of the Holyrood elections.
Unite is requesting leaders of each Scottish political party outline how their respective parties will Keep The North Sea Working.
The union is asking Scottish politicians to back the union's demand for a no compulsory redundancy pledge to preserve jobs, pay and conditions across the industry due to the absence of any just transition.
The union says that North Sea oil and gas workers and their communities deserve to know how elected representatives plan to preserve jobs, pay and conditions across the industry.
The campaign to pressure Scottish politicians has been launched due to the jobs crisis unfolding in the oil and gas sector - particularly in the aftermath of the plant closures at Grangemouth and Mossmorran alongside the growing job losses in the North Sea.
Industry groups claim that up to 1,000 North Sea oil and gas jobs will be lost every month until 2030 with a major factor driving these losses being attributable to government policies.
The union launched its campaign as oil and gas prices continue to rise and supplies become unstable due to the ongoing Iran war and wider crisis engulfing the Middle East.
Sharon Graham Unite general secretary said; 'The government’s energy policies in Westminster and Holyrood are putting jobs and energy security at risk. Blocking oil and gas production in the North Sea, especially now, is an act of monumental political self-harm.
Unite’s message to all politicians is clear. With energy and fuel bills set to rocket due to the Iran war, you need to stop the offshoring of our carbon responsibilities, keep the North Sea working and fund a concrete plan for jobs. We simply cannot let go of one rope before we have hold of another.'
Bob MacGregor, Unite lead industrial officer for the oil and gas sector in Scotland added: 'North Sea oil and gas workers feel abandoned by Scottish politicians.'
'The empty promises of a just transition ring hollow because there are no credible alternatives at scale to replace the tens of thousands of oil and gas jobs being lost. Scotland simply can't sustain this level of industrial devastation.
'North Sea oil and gas workers play an indispensable role in energy security and supply, which is even more critical right now as war rages across the Middle East.'
'Scottish politicians can’t continue to bury their heads in the sand because it is an act of national self-sabotage, we are now challenging them to support union jobs and the communities they sustain.'
Unite has a longstanding North Sea campaign: No ban without a plan, which argues that the government must not allow a jobless transition for North Sea workers and there must be no blocks on North Sea oil and gas work, until commensurate jobs are created.
Source: Unite
