February 2013

Make it your resolution to have a better life at work in 2013. Make it your resolution to Unite. Unite members benefit from strength, advice and protection in the workplace. Joining Unite costs less than you think Subscriptions are from £2.78 per week.Why join Unite?

The biggest offshore union – Unite is recognised throughout the offshore industry and no other union represents and negotiates for more offshore workers. Only Unite, the largest union in the UK, has the power and strength to make a difference in a global industry.

The growing offshore union – In 2012 Over six hundred new members joined the thousands of offshore workers who are already members in Unite.

The organising union – Real workplace power can only be achieved through a strong organised and active union. 2012 has seen progress made towards this goal. Many Unite members became active in their union for the first time and new stewards were elected to represent offshore workers.

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Make 2013 a better year at work.

OFFSHORE FLIGHTS LATEST UPDATE:

Testing of EC225 main gear box vertical shaft continues

For the past weeks, Eurocopter has continued to regularly communicate with oil and gas customers/operators and industry representatives concerning the EC225 main gearbox shaft failures, while respecting the confidentiality of the official accident investigation.The company has provided an overview of its approach to the root cause analysis performed during the past several weeks and has reported a most probable root cause. At this stage, this Eurocopter assumption has not been proven by tests.Eurocopter has announced the launch of a third test campaign, to be initiated in late January, with more sophisticated evaluations that focus on the most probable cause. Bench test results are expected at the end of February.

In addition, evaluations will continue on three alternative scenarios for the failures' cause and all results will be shared with the UK AAIB.

The investigation remains the highest priority for the Eurocopter teams.

Membership subscriptions start from £2.78 per week (£12.05 per month) for full time workers.Unite members benefit from never being alone and rely on Unite for advice, protection and expertise in their workplace on all employment matters.

Unite collectively bargains for over ten thousand workers in the offshore oil and gas industry. We protect and campaign to improve the terms and conditions of our members. The stronger we are, the stronger and better protected you are. Members also receive legal support after 13 weeks membership and many more benefits

Yet to join? Join NOW. Complete and return the application form included with this newsletter.

Complete the application form on this newsletter or join online at http://www.unitetheunion.org/growing-our-union/joinunite/

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Your Unite Team Offshore

Regional OfficersCOTA

John Taylor 01224 645 271 johnc.taylor@unitetheunion.org

OCA/UKDCA/UKFPOAWullie Wallace 01224 645 271

williamc.wallace@unitetheunion.org

Organisers

Billy Donohoe 07919 880 850billy.donohoe@unitetheunion.org

Steve Lewis 07980 083 027 stephen.lewis@unitetheunion.org

Willie Thomson 07810 157 910willie.thomson@unitetheunion.org

Throughout 2012 Unite has been active at the Aberdeen heliports with stewards, officers and organisers speaking to workers about their issues and the benefits of Unite membership. Many offshore workers have taken this opportunity to join Unite and we continue to increase our membership. These visits also give workers the chance to speak to Unite about what matters to them at work and in their communities.

Unite Offshore activists have been attending planning sessions as part of Unite’s campaign to better organise offshore workers. These sessions aim to give all activists the skills, tools and support to strengthen their union offshore. Sessions have been well attended and activists will now be taking their campaign to offshore rigs and installations. Planning sessions are open to all members who wish to improve their life in the workplace and further sessions are planned for 2013. If you wish to attend please contact a member of Unite’s Organising team.

Stuart Hunter, Unite Rep said“This is a great initiative from Unite and shows their commitment to workers in the offshore industry and the offshore sector. Offshore workers face one of the most challenging and demanding working environments. It is important we have a strong and organised union fighting with us. The commitment and resources of our union are essential as we seek to protect and improve our working conditions.”

If you see your union on the heliports please feel free to approach us with any questions you have or to check that we have your correct employment information held on our systems.

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Organising Offshore

Unite reps and organiser speaking to offshore workers at the Aberdeen Heilport. (Workers faces have been masked.)

UNITE MEMBERS. IS YOUR INFORMATION CORRECT?

At this time it is more important than ever that Unite is able to communicate effectively with our offshore members. This means we need to know that your telephone number, email address, home address, job title and employer are up to date.

If you think your membership details need updated please contact the Unite Aberdeen OfficeTel 01224 645271 or check your information online at ‘My Unite’

Dear Unite What I want to improve my worklife offshore for 2013

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WE WISH ALL OUR MEMBERS AND OFFSHORE WORKERS A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

What would your resolution for offshore be in 2013? Tell Unite what would deliver a better and safer offshore industry in 2013. A selection of requests will be published in our next newsletter.

Return your requests either via email to willie.thomson@unitetheunion.org or post Unite at our Aberdeen Office FAO Willie Thomson Organiser Unite the Union 42-44 King Street Aberdeen AB24 5TJ

By Mike Buckley Helicopter Pilot and BALPA memberCurrently employers have a duty of care to provide rescue after a helicopter ditching, but only close to an installation. There are three methods of rescue: by SAR helicopter, by fast rescue craft (FRC) and by DACON scoop (the scoop only being used when the sea state prevents the use of the FRC). This depends on sea state – a wave height of around 5-6m makes FRC recovery extremely difficult and dangerous. The sea state depends on three factors: height, length and period/frequency. Think of the surface of the sea as a sine wave; waves of the same height will appear totally differently if the wavelengths are varied.

Add to this the period and you can see that the situation becomes even more complex, resulting in the ‘steepness’ of the wave. Which leads to another issue: the ‘steeper’ the wave, the more the chance of the wave ‘breaking’, resulting in the capsizing of a helicopter. There is a better chance of success with a 6m wave and a long wavelength, say 100m, than with a 4m wave at 50m. The high, long waves west of Shetland are in many ways more benign than the short wavelengths found in the southern North Sea off Norfolk. Of course, all offshore helicopters are fitted with floatation equipment, but of differing capabilities. During certification, a scale model is placed in an

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Your industry. Your issues.

A Wave of Doubt

environmental tank and subjected to waves which replicate the real thing, up to around 4m. Then the results are extrapolated to give the ‘demonstrated’ capability of the float system. Unfortunately, the waves in the tank do not replicate real waves fully, as they don’t ‘break’ and the extrapolation is open to interpretation. Following the crash of a Sikorsky S92 off Newfoundland, the investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada found the cause but also found that the aircraft was fitted with sea state 4 (SS4) floats but the sea state that day was around 3m higher at sea state 6 (SS6). They asked the question: should the helicopter have been operating outside the limitations of the floatation system? Their recommendation was quite clear: that “Transport Canada prohibits commercial operation of Category A transport helicopters over water when the sea state will not permit safe ditching and successful evacuation”. So where is the problem? Unfortunately, JAR CS29 (and US FAR CS29) only state ‘sea state 6’ without defining how high that is.

The World Meteorological Organisation has defined the limits as seen in the table below.

Considering that the North Sea fairly often experiences ‘significant wave heights’ of 5m with ‘maximum wave heights’ in excess of 9m, you would think that the issue would be easy to resolve. These conditions mean FRCs cannot be used and the waves exceed the floatation equipment, thus the duty of care cannot be met. UK Oil and Gas, the body representing the oil companies, doesn’t agree.It has long been BALPA’s position that offshore flights should not depart if the primary or only method of recovery is the DACON

scoop. Should it also be policy that conditions which exceed the floatation equipment also preclude flight? Annually, the number of flights lost would probably be low and any backlog would be recovered very quickly (Environment Canada’s figures show that in the waters off Newfoundland, SS6 WMO is exceeded 3.3 per cent over the year and 8.9 per cent between December and February).

So I’ll leave you with a question: in an increasingly litigious society, should pilots put themselves in what could be a potentially indefensible position?

Hundreds of offshore workers have signed Unite’s petition calling for an end to the use of the Dacon Scoop as a primary means of recovery offshore. Add your support to our campaign. Signing the petition couldn’t be easier

Speak to Unite at the Aberdeen heliports Speak to your offshore representative or steward Sign the petition online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/Dacon-scoop-petition

Anyone can sign the petition you don’t have to be a Unite member or even an offshore worker.

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SUPPORT UNITE’S CAMPAIGN TO HALT THE USE OF THE DACON SCOOP AS A PRIMARY MEANS OF RECOVERY