An oil platform standing amongst other rigs that have been left in the Cromarty Firth near Invergordon in the Highlands of Scotland, February 15, 2016
THE government must guarantee jobs and pay in its decarbonisation plans, RMT urged today.
The climate change committee released a report on Tuesday which underlined the need for an increase in renewable and “clean” energy as it presented a new pathway to a decarbonised Britain.
The committee set out recommendations after warning that Britain must reduce its emissions by 87 per cent compared to 1990 levels by 2040.
While describing decarbonisation as essential, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch underlined that “workers cannot be left behind, especially in offshore oil and gas.”
“There must also be a greater emphasis on investment to encourage a transition towards public transport, rail freight, and coastal shipping,” he said.
“Too often, transitions like this are used as an excuse to slash and export jobs, cut pay, and replace skilled, unionised workers with casualised labour on worse conditions.
“A genuine just transition must mean protecting wages, skills, and collective bargaining rights across the supply chain.”
Over 2,000 redundancies have been made in offshore oil and gas in the last year.
