The head of the GMB union warned of the perils of rapidly shutting down the North Sea oil and gas industry during a visit to Aberdeen yesterday.
Gary Smith, its general-secretary, said it would be a “disaster” for the whole of the UK if North Sea production were forced off a “cliff edge”.
He was in the Granite City, alongside GMB Scotland senior organiser Louise Gilmour, for crunch talks with energy industry bosses about the “importance of a managed transition” from oil and gas, to renewables.
The pair met more than a dozen business leaders, including Offshore Energies UK chief executive David Whitehouse and Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce CEO Russell Borthwick.
GMB ‘very much against politicians just announcing bans’
How to improve industrial relations was also high on the agenda, with the GMB pushing for a more influential role for unions in shaping North Sea strategy.
Mr Smith said: “We have talked candidly about the fact all the renewables jobs that have been promised haven’t materialised. What we need to try to work on is getting a plan in place for oil and gas.
“GMB is very much against politicians just announcing bans – it is plans not bans for us. Oil and gas is going to be with us for many decades to come, and as well as being vital to the local economy, it is crucial to the UK economy, and sustaining skilled jobs.”
Mr Smith was one of several union figures to publicly criticise Labour’s recent announcement it would halt future North Sea oil and gas exploration licences should the party come to power.
Energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie has warned investments worth a total of around £24 billion are at risk.
Mr Smith said North Sea workers were right to be worried and urged the Labour Party to listen to their concerns.
He added: “Where are the new jobs? Where are the low carbon jobs? There are things starting to happen in hydrogen, but not quickly enough and not at scale.
There needs to be a strong worker voice.”
Gary Smith, general-secretary, GMB
“In terms of renewables, the truth is the Scottish offshore wind industry has been built in China and Indonesia – it hasn’t been built here. There needs to be a strong worker voice and we want politicians who make statements about closing down industries to listen… and recognise the impact that’s going to have.”
For all the rhetoric there has been about green job creation in the UK, there is little to show for it, despite the dozens of turbines currently spinning offshore Scotland.
Skills crisis
At the same time the energy industry is in the midst of a skills shortage, and fears are growing there will not be enough people to deliver the energy transition.
Ms Gilmour said the situation was now at “crisis point”.
She added: “For years we’ve not invested in our young people. There was a lot of talk today about apprenticeships and bringing the next generation through.
“But if you hear about what will happen to the industry without fresh licences, young people won’t want to come and work in Aberdeen if there’s no long term future for them. We really need more investment in our young people, to show them there is a pot of gold there.”
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