The Scottish Government is being urged to set a date for reviewing current restrictions for Scots returning from oil jobs overseas.
North-east Conservative MSP Liam Kerr has written to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urging her to reassess the rules on managed quarantine, which he branded a “complete mess”.
He previously raised the issue during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood last month and was told he’d receive a letter clarifying the issue, though this is yet to materialise.
Under current restrictions only workers returning from an installation in the North Sea via a “low-risk” country are able to isolate at home with their families.
Though this exemption covers a large proportion of Scotland’s overseas oil workers, it doesn’t extend to those returning from outwith the North Sea.
As it stands, a worker returning from a “low-risk” country in the Middle East, for example, will have to enter managed quarantine and spend 10 days in a hotel at a cost of £1,750.
As well as the financial impact for those travelling to and from non-North Sea oil jobs, operators and unions have flagged the effect spending so much time in isolation could have on workers mental health.
Erik Ronsberg, chief executive of Stena Drilling, which has drillships operating off the coast of South America, previously said the rules are pushing workers and their families to “breaking point”.
Mr Kerr has now accused Holyrood of a “lack of action” on the situation and has demanded clarity for the “hundreds of north-east workers” affected by the rules.
He said: “Nicola Sturgeon told me at First Ministers Question’s that she would write to me with clarification on the issue – however I have received no correspondence and that sums up the SNP’s handling of the quarantine situation for oil workers – it’s been a complete mess.
“I’m calling on the Scottish Government to set a date on when a review will be carried out on the situation for those who will barely be able to see their families for months if this continues.
“Hundreds of north-east workers are based in the likes of the Middle East and have been treated as an afterthought through this whole process – it’s a disgrace.”
In his letter to Ms Sturgeon, sent on March 12, Mr Kerr said: “On the 4th March, I sent you an e-mail requesting, given the extensive interest from both industry and the workforce in your answer, an update.
“Whilst I appreciate that you are very busy at the moment, I regret that as at today’s date, over two weeks from my question, I have not received your substantive response promised.
“The answer to this is a major issue and concern in the North East and many companies and families are desperate for both your response but also some comfort that they may be able to spend their field break with their families or at least that a review might be imminent.
“These companies and individuals urgently need clarification on this point and I would be grateful for a response from you as soon as possible.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “It is vital that we do everything possible to prevent the importation of COVID-19, and clearly we cannot risk variants from international travel undermining the deployment of vaccines.
“We have introduced regulations to ensure those travelling from an installation in the North Sea who have transited via a non-acute risk country or territory are not required to stay in managed accommodation but must to stay in specified premises. However, there are no exemptions for oil and gas workers who have been to, or travelled through, an acute risk country in the previous 10 days prior to their departure.”
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