18 November 2020
RMT Press Office:
TRANSPORT AND OFFSHORE Union RMT today responded to the Prime Minister’s announcement of a ten-point plan for a green industrial revolution.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;
“Public transport and offshore workers, who are key to a just transition to net zero carbon, need more detail on how they fit into an economy where endless promises of industrial electricity and hydrogen production for private cars and public transport are casually made alongside the commitment to power every home with electricity from offshore wind by 2030.
“Without reform of the licensing and auction process for offshore wind farms, the Government will not deliver 60,000 jobs by 2030 and we will continue to see manufacturing contracts go overseas, as we saw yesterday on the Dogger Bank projects which has serious consequences for supply chain jobs in port towns and cities across the UK. Over 11,000 jobs in offshore oil and gas and seafaring have already been lost during the pandemic with no clear paths to re-training or re-deployment in the green economy.
“Public transport and rail freight are far more energy efficient than road transport, so it is disappointing that the plan lacks detail on how these can be maintained and expanded.
“Public transport use has fallen dramatically whilst use of the car is increasing. To stop the Coronavirus crisis accelerating the climate crisis and creating another public health emergency there needs to be a new deal for public transport. That means massively expanding transport operating subsidy, capital investment and capacity to make public transport and freight services more frequent, affordable, attractive and safer to use, and ending the profiteering of privatisation through public ownership.
“We need more detail, not more of the Prime Minister’s electric dreams.”
Ends.
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