Offshore workers back ‘landmark’ agreement on terms and conditions

Offshore workers have backed a “landmark” agreement their union said will lead to better terms and conditions.

Union power

Members of the GMB working for North Sea oil and gas companies endorsed the Energy Services Agreement (ESA), described as a groundbreaking new collective agreement for thousands of engineering and maintenance workers. The union described it as a landmark deal, saying it will benefit North Sea workers by providing an equal footing to negotiate pay, terms and conditions, and health, safety and welfare standards.

Ross Murdoch, GMB national officer, said:

This new agreement marks the start of a new way forward, ensuring fair work and better terms and conditions for our members offshore. We can now see the deal has wide support and is a great example of collaborative working between unions, contracting companies, and operators to help ensure the security of the offshore energy industry for many years to come.

This new agreement will help to improve the terms and conditions for our members offshore and we will use it to lobby hard for other contractors outside the ESA to join and improve working conditions in the North Sea for all their workers.

A 2020 report on offshore working conditions and the transfer towards carbon neutral power revealed that:

81.7 per cent of North Sea oil and gas workers said they would consider moving to a job outside of the industry, but if given the option to retrain more than half would be interested in renewables and offshore wind.