Just transition report - offshore oil and gas workers' views

 

Click on image to see report

Aberdeen Trades Union Council is a long term supporter of a just transition away from fossil fuels and arms production towards renewables. We therefore welcome the Friends of the Earth Report  released this week, Offshore: oil and gas workers views on industry conditions and the energy transition, which is particularly relevant to the North East of Scotland.

The report builds on a survey of 1,383 offshore workers, revealing the impact of Covid-19 on their lives, their views on life in the industry generally and their hopes and solutions for the energy transition. In addition to the survey results shared, there are eight case studies in the report from the workers themselves, revealing an exhaustion with precarious employment in oil and gas and a huge appetite for alternative industries, including offshore wind and other renewables.

The report concludes with several recommendations, including the need for governments to engage in participatory policy-making with a representative section of the oil and gas workforce and their trade unions. We request that the government bodies and individuals listed in the report begin this process by meeting with a pool of survey respondents who have expressed interest in speaking with them.

Ryan Morrison, Just Transition Campaigner from Friends of the Earth Scotland. said, “I hope you think its a useful piece of work in the Just Transition struggle. We want to continue worki,g with workers, TUs and communities in crafting solutions for a just transition.”

ATUC delegates support #ChallengePovertyWeek

 
Aberdeen Trades Union Council, at its delegate meeting on 7th October, reaffirmed our commitment to Challenge Poverty Week. Delegates brought along posters and placards for this photo opportunity to say #TogetherWeCan end poverty.

Challenge Poverty Week runs from 5-11 October. It aims to highlight the growing problem of poverty in Scotland and showcase the solutions we can all get behind to solve it.  

With that in mind, ATUC has been sharing articles about how poverty manifests itself in our communities across Scotland and what we need to do to tackle it.

See more on our Facebook page. 

We are particularly concerned about the growing numbers of children growing up in poverty - one in six children in the North East of Scotland. 65% of those children are in a household with one or both parents in work. 

Growing up in poverty has a significant effect on our children, affecting their development, their confidence, their access to opportunities and their health.

Delegates also supported an emergency motion proposed by Gerry McCabe calling for an
Emergency Programme for Jobs, Services and Safety (see motion below)

ATUC sends solidarity and support to RMT striking for safe working conditions on SERCO Caledonian Sleeper

 

Aberdeen Trades Union Council sends solidarity to RMT union, which held the first of two 48 hour strikes on 4th October, in their members' fight for safe working conditions.

The strike on the SERCO Caledonian Sleeper was rock solid, with pickets out in force at key locations as RMT members fight for safe working conditions‎.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;

“RMT members are standing rock solid in their strike action on the Caledonian Sleeper this evening but it remains a scandal that SERCO appear to have deliberately provoked this dispute and have never had any intention of entering serious talks. Instead of working with the union on a solution to the very real issues of safety and fatigue they have declared war on their staff. That is a disgrace.

“It is also wholly unacceptable that the political leadership in Scotland, distracted by the scandal of one of their own travelling on trains while COVID positive, have not lifted a finger to help us settle this dispute. They should get off their backsides and haul SERCO into line. Their lack of action is grossly irresponsible.

“Our members on the Caledonian Sleeper, demanding nothing more than a safe working environment, deserve better than this shocking treatment. We are grateful for the huge level of support that has flooded in and its now down to the company to get serious and negotiate a settlement.”

Join the ATUC and raise your voice against poverty in the world’s sixth richest country

#ChallengePoverty This is Challenge Poverty Week. Aberdeen Trades Union Council is raising our voice against poverty in the sixth richest country in the world. The money is there – it’s just in the wrong hands.

The key messages of Challenge Poverty Week are:

 ·       Too many people in Scotland are living with the constant pressure of living in poverty.

·       As we plan our economic recovery, we must redesign our economy to reflect the values of justice and compassion we all share.

·       By boosting people’s incomes and reducing the cost of living we can solve poverty.

They have also highlighted the importance of affordable and accessible public services – especially council services - critically important to the poorest in our society to ensure opportunities for families and children.

We all want to do right by each other. And yet, we live in a society where one in five people live with the constant pressure of living in poverty. And in the North East of Scotland almost one in six of our children live below the poverty line. Across Scotland it is one in four of our children and 65% of these children live in a household where one or both parents are in work.

Even before the pandemic, poverty was already too high and rising. However, these last few months have created a storm, the likes of which we’ve never seen before. It has caused exceptional damage to people’s livelihoods, income and wellbeing - and is pulling even more families under.

Please read on to find out what you can do....

Sign the petition to ban all unpaid work trial periods

 
Aberdeen Trades Union Council is calling on delegates, associaltes and their families and friends to sign this petition calling for a ban on unpaid work trial periods.

Unpaid trial shifts are open to exploitation as they can be used by unscrupulous employers to take advantage of vulnerable people looking for a job. Often unpaid trials are for minimum wage jobs and the people applying for them cannot afford to work for free but may have no other option. 

Potential employees might feel as though they can't say no to these exploitative trials without risking their future livelihood. It is unfair to force someone to work for hours without pay for a job they might not even be given. Moreover, there is the cost of travelling to and from the trial shift as well as having to buy a uniform such as a shirt, trousers, plain t-shirt etc. These are things that unemployed people cannot afford to be wasting money on and shouldn't have to for a job that is unpaid. 

Please sign this petition

ATUC joins hundreds to raise its voice against poverty in the sixth richest country in the world

#ChallengePoverty Aberdeen Trades Union Council (ATUC) is supporting Challenge Poverty Week, from 5-11 October, which aims to highlight the growing problem of poverty in Scotland and showcase the solutions we can all get behind to solve it.  

Poverty, especially child poverty, has long been a concern to the ATUC and we have raised this issue at the Scottish Trades Union Congress, winning support for strategies to end child poverty. We remain appalled and the growing numbers of food banks in Scotland and across the UK and that food banks so essential to prevent so many of our citizens from facing hunger in the sixth richest country in the world.

Child poverty in Aberdeen sits at 18% and Aberdeenshire sits at 14% - that is almost one in six of our children in the North East of Scotland who live below the poverty line. Across Scotland it is one in four of our children and 65% of these children live in a household where one or both parents are in work.

That is why the ATUC is supporting Challenge Poverty Week; that is why poverty is a trade union issue. We encourage all our affiliated unions, associated organisations and their members to do the same.

During the week we are joining hundreds of organisations from across Scotland in taking part in Challenge Poverty Week, with faith groups, local authorities, businesses, trade unions and charities all raising our collective voice against poverty. We all want to live in a just and compassionate Scotland, but to achieve this action must be taken to loosen the grip of poverty on people’s lives.

ATUC will be writing to our MPs and MSPs calling on them to act to end poverty in the North East, across Scotland and across the UK.

You can go on the Poverty Alliance website and get the letter templates to add your voice to this call.

Please sign petition calling for an immediate end to the Israeli blockade on the people of Gaza

Aberdeen Trades Union Council continues its support for freedom and justice for Palestine by calling on all delegates, associaltes, families and friends to sign the petiton calling for an end to the long-standing blockade of Gaza by the government of Israel.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/308206 

The Gaza Strip has been under siege from Israel since 2007.  The impact of this siege, coupled with intermittent bombardments, has already had a disastrous impact on the physical and mental health of Palestinians in Gaza, as well as devastating the economy.  

In the past weeks this disastrous impact has once again been brought into sharp focus as Gaza has reported its first cases of COVID-19 which has started to spread quickly through refugee camps and communities. 

COVID-19 is uniquely threatening to the people of Gaza. The 1.8 million Palestinians cannot safely self-isolate – there simply isn't space – and no one can leave the region.

On top of that, Israel has not allowed sufficient medical supplies, including tests, to enter. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen.

After 13 years of conflict and blockade, Palestinians in Gaza face a severe shortage of resources and medical personnel. Health officials warn that containment and treatment under the Israeli blockade will be nearly impossible.

Together we are demanding that Parliament call on Israel to end the blockade NOW, before more life is needlessly lost.

The people of Gaza have for too long been abandoned by the international community, and the UK has a particular responsibility to act.  This petition calls on the UK government to confirm to us that they will show leadership and stand in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

Please sign the petition. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/308206