HANDS OFF NORTHERN AND TRANSPENNINE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2015 :: RMTnews 7 R MT has challenged the offshore energy industry to prove that safety can still be delivered against a backdrop of cuts to jobs and attacks on shift patterns and working conditions. The challenge comes on the day of a major offshore safety event that reiterated that the industry is a ‘major accident hazard’ (MAH) working environment governed by a "goal setting" approach to health and safety, meaning the industry objective is "continuous improvement" in safety standards. RMT has pointed out that as the industry claims that safety is, "the number one priority” it needs to prove that the health and safety of workers will be improved with the changes to shift patterns, working hours, workloads and the removal of welfare provisions. The union currently believes that these changes will have a detrimental effect on the health and will inevitably impact on the safety of operations. RMT general secretary Mick Cash warned that the enforced changes are a recipe for disaster. "We are being inundated with concerns about the safety of offshore operations and many workers are expressing fears about the effects of increased workloads and working hours on their health. “In a MAH industry such as oil and gas we would expect responsible employers to conduct research into the impact of significant changes to operations. “Our members report there has been no attempt to consider the effects of these changes. “We are therefore demanding the oil companies prove how these changes will deliver on the objective of continuous improvement in health and safety performance,” he said. Figures from ONS confirm that profitability of offshore companies nose-dived at the end of last year, with UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) companies’ net rate of return falling to 10.4 per cent in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec 2014) – the lowest rate since the ONS started collecting figures in 1997. This is against a net rate of return of 11.9 per cent in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec 2014) for private non-financial companies across the UK economy (down from 12.3per cent in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2014). RMT national secretary Steve Todd said that the figures confirmed that the next government should support RMT’s call for protections for the offshore workforce to prevent a premature decline in exploration and production activity offshore. He also said that members had revealed that one employers association had actually acknowledged there are increased risks associated with the imposition of extended working patterns. “The Offshore Contractors Association has produced a document which sets out a 'risk assessment' process to deal with the hazards of extending shift patterns. “Our members argue that the basic principle of risk assessment is to mitigate against hazards, therefore by acknowledging that increasing shift patterns introduces hazards the industry is in fact increasing risks. “The fact that workers will spend more time annually exposed to the inherent risks associated with a MAH environment demonstrates beyond doubt that the goal setting objective of continuous improvement is being abandoned by this industry and that in fact the "number one priority" is not safety, it is unquestionably profit. “In the absence of any verifiable proof demonstrating that safety performance will not be detrimentally affected we will be challenging the Health and Safety Executive to take a critical look at the actions of oil companies across the UK sector,” he said. PROVE OFFSHORE OPERATIONS WILL BE SAFER