Unite Says Helicopter Safety Meeting Is ‘A Critical Moment’ For UK Offshore Industry
At a meeting Wednesday of the Helicopter Safety Steering Group (HSSG) held in Aberdeen, Scotland Wednesday, the U.K. union Unite called for the grounding of all Eurocopter Super Puma flights until a cause of the most recent accident is identified.
In a news release prior to the meeting, the union said workers refusing to fly must be supported by their employers.
The union said confidence among the workforce in the Super Puma types - which make up 50 per cent of the UK offshore industry’s 75 serving helicopters - has been shattered by the fifth ditching in four years, resulting in a total of 20 fatalities.
Unite said it wants to know if reports that workers on the Borgsten Dolphin platform were briefed by oil company reps to accept the risks of flying on Super Pumas or stop working offshore are true, breaking guarantees from industry bosses to HSSG trade unions that workers would be under no pressure to fly in the aftermath of the October 2012 Super Puma ditching.
“The Super Puma fleet must remain grounded at the very least until the black box from Friday’s crash is recovered and its data reveals the cause of this catastrophe – this isn’t up for debate," said Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty.
“The industry will also have to provide some serious answers to the reports exposing the briefing of workers on the Borgsten Dolphin. That there is a massive logistical challenge in returning workers stuck offshore is undeniable, likewise with those workers who have to get out and earn their keep, but safety is paramount in these extraordinary circumstances.
“We’re in a situation here where more lives have been lost, anger and fear among the workforce is on the rise and there are more questions to be asked rather than answers given over the safety of offshore helicopter transfers. This is a critical moment for the offshore industry and if these companies are serious about even starting to rebuild its shattered reputation then they will listen to, work with and protect the one resource it cannot do without – it’s people.”
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