NORTH SEA OFFSHORE INVESTIGATION REVEALS ‘EXPLOITATION’

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2012 :: RMTnews 11 A joint trade union week of action in the North Sea offshore oil and gas sector to stamp out ‘social dumping’ in the sector has found evidence of the exploitation of Romanian workers in the port of Hartlepool. The week of action was launched in Aberdeen last month by North Sea trade unions and affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) from Norway, Denmark and the UK, backed by unions from around the world. They were concerned about the increasing number of ‘flag of convenience’ (FOC) and so- called ‘national’ registered vessels operating on a regular basis in the North Sea, leading to dramatically reduced opportunities for traditional national seafarer jobs, as companies employ and exploit low cost labour from countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, India, Romania and the Philippines. The key organiser of the week ITF’s Offshore Task Force Group announced that it plans to alert the UK government’s Low Pay Unit and the UK Health and Safety Executive and ask them to look into the employment and suspected labour abuse of Romanian rig workers in the port of Hartlepool and the apparent non-payment of wages to them in line with the UK minimum wage. Around 50 Romanian workers contracted by Romanian company Grup Servicii Petroliere (GSP), a member of Upetrom Group, to work on their offshore rig GSP Britannia, which is currently berthed in Hartlepool’s Able Seaton Dock, say that they have not been paid since October 2011. An ITF inspection uncovered that many of these workers appear to have been paid half of the UK minimum wage – receiving only around £3.50 per hour for a 12 hour day, seven days per week. In addition the crew have no contracts of employment. There is one British captain and two Croatian engineers on board the rig and they appear to have been paid their wages. Another 100 GSP company employees in Romania are also seeking assistance from the ITF office in Constanta, stating that they have not been paid since October 2011. The ITF has been trying to negotiate on behalf of the workers but says that the company keeps making promises and is reported to have made threats to the workers if they complained to the ITF. Around 17 of the Romanian crew were due to be sent home from the rig after a month working on it. They are unlikely to receive any pay when they get home. Replacement crew are then likely to join the rig not knowing if they will get paid at the end of their shift. The crew has asked the ITF to investigate their rights to receive the UK minimum wage and other rights under UK legislation. ITF Offshore Task Force Group Chair Norrie McVicar has been working to negotiate a deal with the company. He has contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for advice about the status of the rig and has been told that the rig is technically not a vessel or considered under the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) Code so falls outside their remit. The owners of the offshore Jack-up Rig GSP Romania have been contacted by the ITF both in the UK and Romania and it appears that the company is in financial difficulties. Norrie McVicar said that it was is social dumping at its worst: “We call upon all right minded people and trade unions in the region to get behind the campaign to stamp this exploitation out. “We’re very disappointed in the company’s response to date, as they say one thing about paying wages and do another and our experience is that they can’t be trusted. “The sad thing is that many of these workers have families with bills to pay and are being bullied out of receiving their just wages, being denied their rights, and are not being paid in accordance with the UK minimum wage. “We are being told by these men that the Able Dock Yard is witnessing human beings so frightened to speak out they will work for food just to survive. “This type of company should never be trusted to work in the North Sea,” he said. up to £3.6 billion on shipping. ``The problem we have as an industry is that we cannot absorb this additional cost and we have to offset it by adding it to transport prices, for both passengers and freight,” he said. RMT national secretary Steve Todd warned of thousands of seafarers’ jobs being at risk “if companies were forced into having to withdraw vessels because they cannot comply by a certain date.” P&O Ferries said its fuel costs would rise by about £60 million a year, adding: ``This will change routes which today are marginal, to be heavily loss making routes. This is completely unsustainable, with job losses inevitable.” It said ferry services within the North Sea emissions control area would face ``severe economic cost pressures“ from 2015 and non-economic routes would have to be closed. ``Within the UK, short sea and ferry services on the longer North Sea Routes from Rosyth, Newcastle, Teesport, Hull and Harwich are particularly exposed to these job losses,” it said. ``Many of these areas are already suffering from high unemployment due to the ongoing recession over the last three years, and further job losses will hit these communities hard.” Brittany Ferries told the committee its costs would rise by at least £40 million. ``To absorb additional costs of this magnitude passenger fares and freight rates would have to increase by 20 per cent which will inevitably result in a fall in business,” it said in written evidence to the committee. ``Because of our longer routes, which unavoidably use more fuel, our passenger fares and freight rates are already significantly higher than those on the Dover Straits. ``We are, consequently, relatively more sensitive to fuel prices so these increases would make us uncompetitive, particularly as the Tunnel will not be affected by these regulations. ``This will result, at the very least, in a reduction in frequency of services and the closure of routes and, at the worst, a cessation of business,” it said. Parliamentary Transport Committee chair Louise Ellman said that the government must work with industry to identify available abatement technologies and help overcome barriers to the development of this equipment. ``But when tough emission standards were first imposed on cars, suitable technology emerged far more rapidly than much of the motor industry forecast and cost far less than was predicted at the outset,” she said. NORTH SEA OFFSHORE INVESTIGATION REVEALS ‘EXPLOITATION’