Friday, July 5, 2013

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Tomorrow’s 25th anniversary of the deaths of 167 workers in the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster in the UK should be a reminder of the terrible human cost of unsafe workplaces, the ACTU said today.

ACTU Assistant Secretary Michael Borowick said the lesson of Piper Alpha was that vigilance was always needed to ensure workers were safe at work.

“The deaths of two workers on the Stena Clyde rig during drilling operations in Bass Strait last year shows that offshore oil rig work remains dangerous,” Mr Borowick said.

“We need stronger safety regulation in Australia, as well as a tougher and more pro-active approach from National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority.

“Stronger regulation is the key to ensuring that major disasters, like Piper Alpha, do not happen in Australia.

“The Piper Alpha disaster remains the world’s deadliest oil rig incident, killing 167 of the 228 workers on the rig at the time. The anniversary of this disaster reminds us that it is workers who bear the cost of management decisions that create dangerous workplaces.

“The official report into the disaster found that the inadequate maintenance and safety procedures had caused the unnecessary deaths of 167 people.

“Maintenance and safety spending on the Piper Alpha had been massively cut back due to a drop in oil prices. Rather than shut down the rig during maintenance and upgrade activities – which would have reduced profits – the owners kept producing oil and gas. This led to the explosion and fires that killed so many workers.

“For the families of the dead, and the workers who survived, this tragedy has defined their lives.

“Australia has not seen a workplace disaster on the scale of the Piper Alpha but last year 212 Australians were killed at work. Reducing that toll should be a priority for governments and employers, and it can only be done by co-operating with workers and unions to create safer workplaces.”

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