Podcast 55 - North Sea Oil in Decline

Socialist correspondent

COP 26 happened in Glasgow at the beginning of November and demonstrated the difficulties that free-market capitalism has in addressing major global challenges which require collaboration and planning. However, faced with its own extinction it is not impossible for capitalism to set aside some of its rivalries to try to save itself. Whether it will succeed is another matter and it will be worrying if the future of humanity is left in its hands. However, as capitalism tries to save itself it will have scant regard for the impact of its climate change policies on working people and the developing world. Workers are rightly skeptical of vague promises about new green jobs. The North Sea oil industry is a specific example of this. Workers are interested in transferring from an industry in decline to green jobs, but they themselves identify a lack of planning by the UK, the Scottish and local governments to make this possible. Market forces mean that contracts for wind turbines, for example, go abroad and there is a lack of validation of their skills and qualifications if they want to move jobs. Like other workers across all industries in recent decades they have faced casualisation through bogus self-employment, cuts in wages and conditions and health and safety concerns.