THE Unite union today launched a major campaign warning North Sea workers will be “betrayed” if Labour pulls the plug on new oil and gas licences without a plan, warning an estimated 30,000 jobs would be pushed “over a cliff edge.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said his party would not grant licences in the North Sea but said it would continue with any licences already in operation.
The party’s biggest union backer has said the plans would be “dangerously premature and reckless.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Labour needs to pull back from this irresponsible policy.
“There is clearly no viable plan for the replacement of North Sea jobs or energy security.
“These types of transitions must have workers at the heart.
“Unite will not stand by and let workers be thrown on the scrapheap.
“North Sea workers cannot be sacrificed on the altar of net zero.”
She added: “We don’t want the oil and gas workers in Scotland to become the coalminers of our generation.
“We’re clearly saying to Labour, ‘don’t let go of one rope before you get hold of another.’
“There’s a situation now where 30,000 oil and gas jobs will be going over a cliff edge by 2030.”
The No Ban Without a Plan campaign, which launches ahead of the general election, states 35,000 new energy transition jobs in wind power, hydrogen and carbon capture could be created by 2030.
It suggests building local manufacturing for wind power instead of relying on imports from other nations.
Ms Graham said the investment needed would amount to £1.1 billion each year for six years.
“We need to have energy security, Scotland is a key player in that. Why can’t we invest in Scotland? We could be the powerhouse of wind power,” she added.
“People in Scotland want Labour to pick up that mantle.”
Writing in the Aberdeen Press & Journal, Ms Graham also said: “In the 1980s, the decimation of Britain’s coal mines shattered lives and destroyed communities, forever.
“If Labour fails to learn these lessons in the North Sea it will be a historic betrayal. Unite will not stand by and watch workers thrown on the scrap heap.”
Labour has been contacted for comment.