Safety impetus being sacrificed to cost pressure, says union chief

Oil and gas industry bosses have been urged to maintain the focus on safety in the face of new challenges within the sector.

One senior union figure told how he fears the safety drive of recent years stalled as the global price of oil was being squeezed.

Jake Molloy, regional organiser of the RMT union, said: “Regrettably, 40 dollar (£30) barrels came along (in 2016) and I think that’s had a detrimental impact as the drive to reduce costs and improve efficiency has had a detrimental effect on the attitudes and behaviours of workers who have lost that impetus.

“The consensus now seems to be that safety is at a cost and the whole drive has stopped and has been sacrificed to cost.”

A public inquiry into the Piper Alpha tragedy, chaired by Lord Cullen, produced 106 recommendations for the sector. All of them were accepted by industry and the findings led to the health and safety regime the industry has today.

Lord Cullen recently pressed the case at an industry event for a thorough “reporting culture” in which people should feel able to raise any safety concerns.

Mr Molloy said he has seen both good and bad examples of that culture working in practice.

He said: “I’m dealing with one lad just now who sustained a very serious injury, it’s a life-changing injury.

“But it could have been prevented because the danger signs were highlighted to management months before. They refused to listen to those concerns.”

In April, the Health and Safety Executive wrote to North Sea operators over concerns about continued oil and gas leaks in the industry.