Offshore safety concerns

General union Unite has urged the UK government to step in with support as oil companies are expected to reduce spending on investment and exploration by over a third by 2017. The union fears that jobs cuts across the UK offshore oil industry will compromise safety in the industry and create the potential for another safety disaster on the scale of Piper Alpha.

Unite regional officer John Taylor said: “The shift to working three weeks on followed by three weeks off in an intensely harsh and demanding environment is taking its toll on workers. The climate of cost-cutting ... is not consistent with maximum public and worker safety.”

www.unitetheunion.org/news/unite-calls-for-immediate-action-on-job-losses-at-oil-industry-summit-or-risk-another-piper-alpha