Energy / Politicians sign oil and gas jobs pledge after open letter from isles businesses
SHETLAND’S MP and MSP have signed a pledge to protect oil and gas jobs after posters put up in local shops accused the two of not backing the sector.
Alistair Carmichael and Beatrice Wishart met representatives from the Unite union and two workplace reps from Sullom Voe on Friday.
The Unite poster, which featured a photo of Sullom Voe Terminal, said “we back Shetland’s oil and gas workers” and referred to its “no ban without a plan” campaign, which says there should not be a “jobless” transition to net zero.
It added that “Shetland’s MP and MSP still haven’t signed Unite’s pledge to protect oil and gas jobs” – with a QR code then linking to a webpage offering people the chance to write to their political representatives and encourage them to sign up.
It was posted in a number of local shops in March, with both elected politicians saying then they would be willing to sit down with Unite.
Carmichael and Wishart were presented with an open letter from several Shetland businesses on Friday which encouraged them to back the campaign.
The letter said the oil and gas industry had been a “hugely important employer” for over 40 years, providing good quality jobs for local people on whose custom “local businesses like ours depend”.
“Oil and gas workers must not become the coal miners of this generation. We need to ensure adequate investment so that workers are not made to pay the price for the transition to greener energy,” it said.
It was signed by businesses including Frankie’s Fish and Chip Shop, Westside Pine, Cee and Jays and Scalloway Meat Company.
Unite said its meeting with the politicians was “highly productive”, and that they had shown “clear dedication to supporting oil and gas workers in Shetland and beyond”.
“We hope that we can work together further as the campaign progresses, as we see decommissioning in the North Sea cause further job losses in the oil and gas industries,” the union said.
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