As is always the case, this is a very difficult area in which to produce proof, but let us look at another industry—the construction industry—where the unions and the workers got lucky and were able to uncover the scandal of the Consulting Association, which operated in collaboration with major construction employers. Members will be well aware of the history of that case, which is still on-going in the courts. I think that it is a safe bet to say that that level of behaviour, which was widespread in the construction industry, is very typical in other industries, but we cannot get proof of that.
When I and my colleague Jake Molloy and other trade union officials who deal with the offshore industry talk to workers about the heliports and when we are in communication with them over the phone, they tell us things and say, “You didn’t hear this from me.” On top of that, there is the evidence of the inspections that were carried out by the authorities of a number of installations last year, in which the safety-critical element was quite high. The highest points were scored where there was a question mark over the integrity of the installation. That should give us an indication that something is not right. It is sad that, when there is a major incident and inquiries are held, people say that, in hindsight, they could have spoken out at the time, but they were afraid to.
There is an absence in that regard. We raised that at a meeting yesterday with the OCA employers. We wanted them to promote more strongly the idea that elected workplace or union representatives should be promoted and encouraged within companies. As far as I am concerned, the real heroes are the workers who have the courage to speak up and speak out, but history shows us that, somewhere along the line, those people get their cards marked and, when it comes to redundancies, they find themselves in the queue to go. Their suspicion is—although, again, we do not have hard evidence—that, somewhere along the line, they are identified as people who are not required back, because they were seen to be speaking out in a way that was detrimental to the company’s interests. That will never be written down.
That is why I say that we got lucky with the construction industry when the Consulting Association’s files were found. Maybe one day we will have a WikiLeaks-type situation in the oil and gas industry, whereby the lid will come off and we will find out that the truth that we were generally aware of is definitely the truth. The companies and the industry need to come up with a charter to encourage people to speak up and speak out. That right should be protected.
Let us look at another example. Why is the industry so dead against a public inquiry into helicopter disasters, when the relevant committee of the United Kingdom Parliament decided, in the summer of last year, that there was a need for an independent inquiry? The idea of an independent inquiry was a no-no, on the basis that, “It’s not that bad—we are just as good as the Norwegian sector.” In the 21st century, 38 people have lost their lives in our territorial waters as a result of helicopter tragedies. There have been no such deaths in Norway. There is no comparison to be made. All that we can say is that the situation in the UK is really quite bad. There is a need for such an inquiry. Who blocked that? Who was behind that? If we ask ourselves that and look at the answer, we have to say that there is a nervousness there.
The textbooks say that companies will have everything written down about their health and safety policies. We welcome those policies, but the issue is their practical application all the way down the chain of command when someone puts their hand up, points the finger and speaks up and speaks out. Sometimes they come through their unions to do that, because they want anonymity. Like Jake Molloy, I have serious concerns that something serious could happen. I want to emphasise that we, of course, do not want any such thing to happen.
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