Life before profits!

Submitted by Janine on 12 October, 1990 - 10:58

Safety is a central issue in the offshore workers' struggle.

One OILC (Offshore Industry Liaison Committee) activist explained: "I get £300 a week for one of the most dangerous jobs around. So far 500 of us have died. The multinationals' propaganda goes on about 'high risk and high reward', but that's a load of rubbish as far as I'm concerned.

"Safety risks are built into the rigs to save money and increase profits. Even the helicopters which take us to and from the rigs are death-traps. We call them egg-beaters. They bounce us around and rattle about. The doors sometimes swing open in mid-flight over the North Sea."

The OILC has compiled a list of six closely typed pages detailing the major accidents since 1988. Tragedies like the Piper Alpha disaster in which 167 died are well known, but there are three or four major incidents every month, on average.

"When we win this dispute," explained an OILC activist, "we will set down the health and safety procedures and we will decide everything, including which helicopters to use. We want to have control and make the decisions. Human life must come before profits."

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