North Sea Trade Unions and affiliates to the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) from Norway, Denmark, and UK will launch an international campaign against Social Dumping in the North Sea Offshore Oil and Gas Industry.

The ITF affiliated unions representing Norway, Denmark, and the UK are concerned about the increasing number of ‘Flag of Convenience’ (FOC) and so-called “national” registered vessels operating on a regular basis in the North Sea. The impact of this is dramatically reduced opportunities for traditional national seafarer jobs, as companies employ and exploit low cost labour from countries such as Lithuania, Latvia, India, Romania and the Philippines’.

In addition, Vessels registered in the Norwegian 1st registry (NOR) are now being reflagged, as a consequence of the unfair competition from other registers. They continue with regular operations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf but are replacing Norwegian Seafarers with other nationalities on wages and working conditions far below Norwegian standards. 

The ITF affiliates are DEEPLY CONCERNED that in the near future there will no longer be any NOR vessels on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and consequently no Norwegian Seafarers on board offshore supply and service vessels operating in Norway.

The ITF Affiliates’ BELIEVE that the only way to prevent social dumping in the North Sea, thereby upholding the competitiveness of our National Seafarers is to demand  Internationally acceptable wage and working conditions for all Seafarers on board vessels operating on the North Sea Continental Shelf, regardless of nationality.

We ACKNOWLEDGE that the shipping industry is a globalised industry, but we should uphold traditional Seafarers rights to compete for jobs servicing the petroleum industry on the North Sea Continental Shelf and this should be based on acceptable international standards on wages and working conditions.

The ITF Affiliates and seafarers will lay wreaths in national flag colours in Aberdeen harbour today at 11am at Pocra Quay Aberdeen at “Footdee Seafarers Memorial” in memory of those Norwegian, Danish and British seafarers who have given their lives for the industry and to recognise the continuous loss of jobs and opportunities for Norwegian, Danish and British seafarers in the North Sea.

Steve Todd, RMT National Secretary said today; “The decline of British ratings in the North Sea over the years has been dramatic, and companies appear to be practicing ‘under the table discrimination’ by refusing applications for jobs from experienced British seafarers’ while employing low cost workers from outside instead. The RMT will join other ITF affiliates in calling on the oil and gas industry generally, and Oil and Gas UK specifically, to seriously look at the damage being done to the long term skills needs of the oil and gas industry, where it’s recognised there will be a shortage of 15,000 skilled workers over the next 5 years.”

Captain Hans Sande, Norwegian Officer Union said, that we should not forget that this is also a problem facing Danish and British seafarer and it should be addressed in the same notice. The fact that the ship owner has several national 2nd registers to shop among, creates a situation where the traditional registers cannot compete. As long as the policy of UK, Norway and Denmark is to keep the north sea open for “free competition” ,there is no way that we can maintain a sustainable recruitment in the long run .All we ask for, is fair competition in our own waters.

In the spirit of solidarity coming from a labour supplying country, Abdulgani Serang, General Secretary, National Union of Seafarers of India (NUSI) has demanded that the unhealthy practice of reflagging which directly contributes to social dumping is not acceptable. Firstly, our objective is that the jobs of seafarers from Norway, Denmark and UK should be protected and retained. Secondly, we support the demand of internationally acceptable wage and working conditions for the seafarers regardless of their nationality as a justified way to achieve this objective.

Source: itf.org