The GMB general union and the employers’ federation, UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) have signed what the union calls a ‘landmark agreement on shale gas’. The agreement takes the form of a joint charter, focusing on safety, skills and supply chain development in what has become a controversial sector of the energy supply market. The charter is a pro-active and pre-emptive response to the growth in the scale of onshore shale gas extraction and the controversy that surrounds it, and follows from the government’s recent expansion of licensing agreements to allow for exploration of the onshore gas.
The GMB union, one of the major energy unions, signed the charter with the UKOOG. The GMB (i) sought to allay fears on issues surrounding ‘fracking’, a process where high pressure liquid is forced downwards to create fractures in the rock layer, to release the shale gas that some believe severely damages communities and the environment, (ii) protect potential high-end job creation. The UKOOG is the employers’ federation or representative body covering exploration, production and storage. Its ob
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