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There are many manufactured splits within the offshore workforce, and no split is more detrimental than between Core Crew and Ad Hoc workers.
Core Crew or Residents, depending upon the lingo, have a set job role on a set installation. It is these workers who have experienced the damaging grind of the 3&3 rota for years. On the other hand, there is a large pool of Ad Hoc workers who cannot find any stability or certainty in their employment offshore. Trips vary in length and the frequency of offers of work swing from too much work to far too little work (depending on the time of year and employer). The experience of Ad Hoc workers is all too often a cycle of short term work, followed by redundancy and an inability to accrue employment rights. Many Ad Hoc workers would grab the opportunity for a stable 3&3 rotation, just to have some certainty of income. Yet, those who have had stable work on the 3&3 rotation have found it destructive of health and wellbeing. Unite says: These problems are two sides of the same coin and the only beneficiaries of the status quo are the employers and operators. The answer: A new balance of rotas and employment offshore. 2&3 rotation – One rota for all offshore workers. A 2&3 rotation should mean where there are currently only two back to backs on a 3&3 rotation, there will be three back to backs – Increasing the opportunities for a stable rotation by over 33%. No wage cuts as part of the transition from 3&3 to 2&3. Oil prices have now recovered and remained stable throughout 2018. The oil industry can afford this rebalancing of offshore working patterns. Where there is a genuine need for an Ad Hoc or Flying Squad workforce this should be managed only through a continually improving Permanent Retained Contract (PRC) model of employment. |
Unite is aware that there is currently a 60/40 split between those on a set rotation offshore and those in a precarious Ad Hoc position:
60% have a fixed rotation, most of whom are on the grinding 3&3 and 40% have no certainty or employment stability. A move to a 2&3 rota should increase the opportunities for a regular rotation by 30%+ Get Active Get Organised Fight for a better deal Offshore Join Unite Today |