UK Union Welcomes Offshore Agreement
UK union Unite announced on the 31st March that it welcomed a new agreement covering offshore workers.
The agreement, which was hammered out between trade unions, including Unite, and the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA), will ensure Unite’s members at risk of redundancy or lay off, and those recently made redundant, can benefit from the UK government coronavirus job retention scheme, Unite outlined.
The union said the agreement will also protect those with underlying health problems who have been told to shield themselves.
“The new agreement will bring relief to many of our members who were facing a very uncertain future and will secure a workforce ready for when we overcome this pandemic,” Unite regional industrial officer John Boland said in a union statement.
“Unite offshore members are used to overcoming difficulties, and with the support of their union they will overcome this period, and be stronger for it,” he added.
“Working together, the unions and the OCA have shown the value of an offshore collective agreement, and that is why the offshore contractors agreement must remain in place,” the Unite representative continued.
On the 19th March, the RMT union warned that the oil price war and coronavirus pandemic could put tens of thousands of offshore professionals out of work.
The OCA represents contractor companies in the UK in a range of offshore and onshore activities, according to the organization’s website. Current OCA members include Aker Solutions, Petrofac, Sparrows, Wood and Worley, the OCA’s website shows.
Unite is the largest offshore trade union, according to its website. Formed in 2007, the union regularly runs oil and gas related campaigns.
As of the 31st March, 22,145 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK, with 1,408 deaths, according to the latest figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Globally, there have been 750,890 confirmed cases of the virus, with 36,405 deaths, as of the 31st March, WHO data shows.
Source: Rigzone