Offshore Worker Mental Health Survey

Workers in the offshore oil and gas industry are being encouraged to take part in a survey into their mental and physical health and safety in the wake of COVID-19.

The survey will assess the impacts on offshore workers brought on by operational changes made by employers in response to the abrupt reduction in oil and gas prices caused by the pandemic.

Click here to access the survey

The Offshore Alliance championed the survey and co-funded it with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association.

The Offshore Alliance, a combination of the two principal offshore unions, The Australian Workers’ Union and the Maritime Union of Australia, represents more than 1800 members in Western Australia alone.

“While other groups of workers have been given an opportunity to provide feedback on the impact of work on their mental health, offshore workers have so-far been overlooked,”

AWU WA Branch Secretary Brad Gandy said.

“Alliance members’ unique insight on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their specific workplaces and work demands are vital to informing industry and the development of strategies that best support employee mental health and well-being.”

Mr Gandy said the focus of the Offshore Alliance was always its members, and together they had fought to secure strong EBA outcomes, improve conditions at work and improve the sector for workers as a whole.

“The Offshore Alliance wants to make lasting improvements in the sector, including by increasing the recognition of the psychosocial hazards of the type of work and type of rosters worked in the offshore sector, including isolation, casualisation and long periods away from family and friends,” he said.

 “The Alliance hopes the survey, being a genuine initiative between the Alliance, the government and industry, will not only provide valuable insight into the psychosocial risks in offshore work, but help develop measures that can be implemented to reduce them.”

The survey has been designed and will be delivered by the University of Western Australia in collaboration with Curtin University.

The survey is now open, and the Alliance is encouraging every offshore worker to participate.

All information provided will remain confidential and all reported data will be anonymised.

You can access the survey at:  http://bit.ly/OffshoreWorkerMentalHealthSurvey”