Guidelines On Fair Removal Of Contractors Should Boost Offshore Safety

摘要

In a move that should encourage oil and gas workers to raise safety concerns with management, new guidelines have been introduced setting out the protocol companies should follow when removing contractors from offshore installations. The RMT union has been pressing for the outlaw of the practice - known as Not Required Back (NRB) - which, it suggests, has led in some cases to the dismissal of workers who challenged gaps in safety procedures. Describing how the practice works, the union's regional organiser, Jake Molloy, said that when an owner of an offshore installation decides it wants to get rid of a worker, it contacts the operative's contracting employer to tell it the individual is no longer required on that installation. He explained that NRB sent a strong signal to workers that it might not be in their best interests, from an employment perspective, to raise safety issues, or question anything that they see on an installation.