Labour will pile the pressure on the Scottish Government today to release up-to-date figures on job losses in the offshore industry.
SNP ministers have so far refused to publish estimates on the scale of redundancies in the north-east.
In September, Oil and Gas UK estimated 65,000 roles would be lost across the UK, but the Scottish Government has yet to provide its own estimate.
Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald has now written to Energy Minister Fergus Ewing to demand he provide up-to-date figures so government agencies can “respond properly” to the crisis.
The Scottish Government has announced a range of measures designed to help the offshore industry in recent weeks, including extending the work of the Energy Jobs Taskforce, which is intended to help those made redundant get back into work.
But Mr Macdonald said: “The Energy Jobs Taskforce cannot possibly do its job properly without access to up-to-date and accurate information on the scale of job losses currently affecting the north-east and the wider Scottish economy.
“SNP Ministers are still quoting Oil & Gas UK’s estimated figure of 65,000 job losses across Britain from September 2015, and it is high time that detailed figures were produced for Scotland to ensure that government agencies are equipped to respond to the needs of those who have lost their jobs.
“At the recent Fraserburgh jobs fair, organised to support workers in the fish processing industry, a third of those attending had been made redundant from oil and gas jobs.
“Many of those had been given inaccurate advice regarding their eligibility for benefits, and had spent their redundancy packages supporting their families while they looked for a new job.
“Without information on how many workers have lost their jobs, it is impossible for government agencies to respond properly, and impossible to ensure workers are being given the right advice.
“The SNP have been dodging these questions for far too long, and those affected by the crisis deserve answers.”
Mr Macdonald has also a tabled a question in parliament today to ask Mr Ewing to provide up-to-date figures on job losses.
A Scottish Government spokesman said they are doing “all they can within our devolved powers”.
He added: “The UK Government retains control of the main economic and tax levers affecting the North Sea oil industry, and we have repeatedly called on them to take action to protect jobs by reducing the overall tax burden on the sector.
“The Scottish Government believes that the UK Government need to send a strong signal of tax reductions in order to boost confidence in the sector.”
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