REMEMBERING PIPER ALPHA

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2017 :: RMTnews 11 A monument was unveiled earlier this year by Inverness trades council to those who lost their lives at work. RMT Inverness branch secretary Kim Gibson, RMT Parliamentary Group MSP Dave Stewart and other members attended the unveiling of Inverness Workers Memorial on the banks of the River Ness. It is reckoned to be the most northernly of memorials of its kind and one where RMT was active in making it become a reality. O n July 6 1988, 29 years ago, an explosion and resulting oil and gas fires destroyed Piper Alpha, killing 167 people, including two crewmen of a rescue vessel, and 61 workers aboard survived. Thirty bodies were never recovered. At the time of the disaster, the platform accounted for approximately ten per cent of North Sea oil and gas production, and the accident is the worst offshore oil disaster in terms of lives lost and industry impact. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said that Piper Alpha would always cast a long shadow over the North Sea and the global offshore oil and gas industry, serving as a constant reminder of the need for rigorous and continuously improving safety standards. "We repeat our commitment to securing and enforcing those standards for the current generation of offshore workers. In doing so, we serve the memory of those who lost their lives in such appalling circumstances. "Today we remember the 167 victims of this tragedy and stand with their families and loved ones on the anniversary of their loss,” he said. RMT national secretary Steve Todd said that RMT honoured and respected the memory of those who perished in the North Sea on July 6 1988. “We also pay tribute to the families, loved ones and colleagues left behind in such painful circumstances. "The lessons learned from this catastrophic incident should never be forgotten or downgraded," he said. In Aberdeen, the Kirk of St Nicholas in Union Street has dedicated a chapel in memory of those who died containing a Book of Remembrance listing all who died. There is a memorial sculpture in the Rose Garden of Hazlehead Park. REMEMBERANCE: Flowers lie at the foot of the Piper Alpha Memorial at Hazlehead Park, Aberdeen. REMEMBERING PIPER ALPHA REMEMBER THE DEAD AND FIGHT FOR THE LIVING