OIL WORKERS WIN PROTECTION

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: march 2009 :: RMTnews 12 S ince the early days of oil and gas exploration off British shores there has been a shadow hanging over every worker employed in the industry – the shadow of NRB, (Not Required Back). This is a practice where an oil company manager can tell the employer of a contract worker that their employee is not required back on their respective installation. No reasons given, no justification for the decision, just a simple – “don’t send him back!” What NRB has meant is that for nearly 30 years, contract workers have been exposed to draconian practices where reporting safety concerns could potentially lead to termination of employment. Last month that shadow was removed as a result of the concerted efforts of OILC/RMT. Now, new guidelines issued by industry body Oil and Gas UK require bosses to give clear reasons for removing contractors from sites. For over a decade OILC, as an independent trade union, and subsequently RMT’s offshore branch, has fought to have the scourge of NRB removed. Oil workers have battled through employment tribunals on to employment appeals and even to the highest court in Scotland, the Court of Session. The legal route delivered to some extent, ensuring that some workers were compensated for the injustice brought on them. This brought about a change in the approach of contract companies who would often redeploy workers rather than dismiss them. But more needed to be done, and at the historical OILC AGM in October 2007 – which led to the merger of OILC and RMT – a strategy was agreed which would “name and shame” oil companies that continued to use NRB. The first exposé was of Danish outfit Maersk Oil after three members were NRB’d for raising safety issues. This was followed by 4 other major oil companies being exposed for similar practices. The union’s strategy was to target the oil businesses reputation. By exposing their unjust actions RNT hoped to force the industry to change. And after six months of negotiation and debate, RMT secured the introduction of a process which is set to provide protections to workers never previously imagined. RMT regional organiser Jake Molloy said: "We welcome the introduction of this guidance and believe it can deliver on several fronts. “From industry it certainly delivers the message that NRB is no longer tolerable in this day and age. “This means the guidance should act as a real deterrent to bad practice on the part of individual managers. “We hope it will encourage greater involvement of workers in the safety agenda, as any perceived fears about NRB should be dispelled. Finally, in the event of a dispute about the removal of a worker, the process delivers a degree of fairness and natural justice which was previously absent,” he said. OIL WORKERS WIN PROTECTION RMT hails the removal of NRB