Amicus Push for Better Rights for Offshore Workers
LONDON, September 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Amicus, the union for oil workers, met with MPs and MEPs looking at the oil and gas industry yesterday to insist for better entitlements for people working offshore.
Amicus urged the cross party committee for offshore industries to extend the protection of pay and conditions to offshore workers whose employment is transferred between companies.
The union also wants the closure of a loophole that allows rich oil companies to avoid paying national insurance contributions for members by paying workers wages through the Channel or Caymen Islands.
Amicus say another vital issue affecting members' pay and conditions is the use of cheap foreign labour.
Amicus' National Officer for the offshore industry, Rab Wilson, said:
"Offshore workers are really vulnerable to poor employment practices, not being protected by the TUPE transfer arrangements that ensures workers can expect the same pay and conditions when their employer changes and being exempted from the Working Time Directive regulations meaning they are currently not entitled to four weeks paid leave.
"We are campaigning and lobbying hard for changes to the legislation that will correct these things, after all, this is a multi-billion pound industry that should want to look after it's employees properly."
Amicus also met with the Health and Safety Minister earlier this week to ask for the health and safety regulations for the offshore industry to be reviewed.
The union is also pursuing a legal case for the offshore industry opt-out of the European Working Time Directive to end so offshore workers are entitled to four weeks paid holiday a year, like every other industry employee.
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