THE NORTH SEA - THE NEW ‘SOCIAL DUMPING’ GROUND

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: june 2017 :: RMTnews 12 RMT’s sister Union in Norway Industri Energi (IE) has found evidence that the drilling contractor Ocean Rig is using underpaid foreign workers in a practice known as ‘social dumping’. IE spokesman Harald Hereid said that the union had “documentation that shows Ocean Rig uses foreign manpower,” onboard it’s Leiv Eiriksson rig, which is currently located in the Barents Sea offshore Norway, where it is drilling for Lundin Petroleum. He said that those hired by the company were “significantly underpaid in relation to the job for which they are employed. “We take a very serious view of cases of social dumping and will vigorously pursue this case,” he said. He added that social dumping was “totally unacceptable and a breach of Norwegian law as it undermines workers wage and working conditions, while it also eliminates serious companies”. Last year, RMT found evidence from several sources that non-European Union workers, mainly from Malaysia, the Philippines, and India were being used on the CNR Murchison decommissioning project, within the UK sector. Through the mechanism of the Offshore Co-ordinating Group (OCG) RMT said that there was little doubt that many of these workers were earning much less than their Norwegian and UK offshore counterparts. There is evidence that some of these workers earn as little as $45 US per day. It is also clear that many of those working on the Murchie decommissioning job were performing skilled and semi- skilled trade work, such as welding and scaffolding, despite being employed on maritime contracts. There is also little doubt that this exploitation of foreign labour is now on the rise as unscrupulous companies will do everything they can to cut their costs which, for them, is all the better if they can control an unorganised work force which has no union at their back to protect them. RMT regional organiser Jake THE NORTH SEA - THE NEW ‘SOCIAL DUMPING’ GROUND