Oil & Gas UK (OGUK) has welcomed the UK Chancellor’s announcement that the furlough scheme will be extended for four months until October.
“Across the country, this industry has been deeply impacted by low oil and gas prices as well as Covid-19 and we will continue to see the compounding effects on people’s jobs and livelihoods,” OGUK’s Chief Executive Deirdre Michie said in an organization statement.
“We are now working to gather details of what this announcement will mean for our members post-July, and how we can support them through what remains an undoubtedly difficult period,” Michie added.
“The latest announcement is recognition of how long some sectors will take to recover from this crisis and the support they will need – the collapse in commodity prices means the oil and gas industry’s recovery will inevitably be prolonged,” Michie continued.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed that the furlough scheme would be extended by a further four months earlier this week. Under the extension, furloughed workers across the UK will continue to receive 80 percent of their current salary, up to $3,051 (GBP 2,500) per month, according to a UK Government statement.
“Our Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has protected millions of jobs and businesses across the UK during the outbreak – and I’ve been clear that I want to avoid a cliff edge and get people back to work in a measured way,” Sunak said in a government statement.
The UK Government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme went live on April 20. According to the government, 5,000 HMRC staff are operating the scheme.
OGUK describes itself as the leading representative body for the UK offshore oil and gas industry. It is a not-for-profit organization that was established in April 2007. Its membership includes companies such as BP, Exxon and Shell.
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