Offshore rota hits workers’ health

A new report from Robert Gordon University (RGU) says North Sea workers on a three weeks on/three off rota are nearly twice as likely to experience ill health as those on a two weeks on/two off shift.

Put together on behalf of the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA), the document highlights the mental and physical exhaustion felt by those on the newer three weeks on/three off shift pattern.

It follows a study funded by OCA and its

“The workforce has been telling us this for some time”

member companies, who last year formed a joint working party with advisory, conciliation and arbitration service Acas and three trade unions – GMB, Unite and RMT – and commissioned RGU to undertake the independent research.

The report claims three weeks on/three off rotas are more likely to impact on workers’ wellbeing, with the newer shift pattern also blamed for exacerbating health issues.

Jake Molloy, RMT regional organiser in Aberdeen, said: “The workforce has been telling us this for some considerable time.

“We need to now drill down into the real detail ... and see what can be done and what the industry should be doing to remedy this.”