Phasing in and phasing out: Reworking labour in energy transitions in the North Sea

To reach the international climate targets, we must move away from fossil energies. This green transition will bring profound changes to economic, social and political systems, not least in labour markets. PHASE is about the impacts of the green transition on working life and the conditions for democratic participation in the new energy systems. PHASE will explore how the green transition affects work and labour organisation in North Sea-based energy systems from petroleum to renewables. We ask how workers in offshore related industries individually and collectively experience and act upon the green transition. We will explore three issues: 1) individual jobs motivation and labour mobilities; 2) how the green transition reshapes workers’ conditions, labour relations and workers’ participation 3) how the experiences with and prospects of green transition affect workers’ collective ability and will to resist or promote phasing out petroleum and/or phasing in renewables. Studies on the green transition usually emphasise aggregate figures on supply and demand of energy or labor - without regarding the knowledge, experiences and motivations of workers and their organisations. We will therefore combine register data on labor market mobilities and qualitative interviews. We will interview people in industry and at universities who work with recruitment, students, young employees, employees in pracarious parts of the industry and in the trade union movement to explore how the green transition affects work and work organization in transition in the energy sector in the North Sea. The majority of PHASE will be a case study from Norway, while we will also explore experiences from Scotland to learn from a more advanced offshore wind industry and compare experiences. The insights created in PHASE can help identify opportunities and challenges for a green and just energy transition, with a view to inequality and democratic participation in working life.

This project concerns how the green transition affects work and labour organisation in North Sea-related energy systems from petroleum to renewables. We ask how workers in offshore related industries from petroleum to renewables individually and collectively experience and act upon the green transition. The overall research question is: How do the workers in offshore related industries individually and collectively experience and act upon the green transition? The project has three sub research questions: • Research Question 1: How does the green transition impact on the labour market dynamics in the offshore energy industries? • Research Question 2: How does the green transition reshape labour regimes in offshore energy industries? • Research Question 3: How do these changes impact on trade unions’ ability and willingness to actively engage in a green transition? The larger part of PHASE will be a mixed method case study from Norway, while we will also explore experiences from Scotland. By doing so, we will be able to draw lessons from a more advances offshore renewable setting, compare experiences and engage on transnational aspects of transition and labour organisation.