n By Hajera Blagg
when local leaders and government work together, turning environmental challenges into economic opportunities that deliver real growth.
“This will help stop carbon escaping into the atmosphere but, beyond that, it will help to turbocharge our economy and ensure the future is built on sustainable foundations, with good jobs and opportunity for all,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hynet Alliance chair Dave Parkin said, “HyNet was formed to meet the demands of industry wanting to decarbonise to deliver sustainable products and compete in the global low carbon economy.
“We need to decarbonise, not by de-industrialising, but by investing in the industries of the future that we rely on for the everyday products in our lives – from the glass bottles we use for our food and drink to the cement we use to build roads and buildings.” A key consideration for Unite when the Hynet project enters its construction phase is ensuring that the thousands of new jobs created are highly skilled, well-paid and unionised.
Meetings have so far focused on presenting the trade union vision of an industrial strategy for Hynet and other green energy projects that will directly benefit local communities.
The aim is to do this through employment security, apprenticeships, social economic improvements and engagement of the appropriate national agreements across the region.
Unite senior shop steward at Stanlow Essar John Fitzpatrick was among those who has attended high-level meetings on the future of Hynet.
Stanlow oil refinery will play a key part of the Hynet project because it is where the low-carbon hydrogen will be produced and then
subsequently piped to manufacturing businesses in the area.
John said that after attending meetings on the project, he anticipates a bright future for workers at Stanlow and beyond.
“Hynet is great news for us because oil and gas will be phased out eventually, so this is future- proofing job prospects not just for us at Stanlow but for workers across the North West,” he told buildingWORKER.
“Obviously as a union we want our national agreements honoured on these jobs, which must have procedures and training in place so that we get high-standard workers who are confident in doing the jobs that are created through Hynet,” John added.
25 unite buildingWORKER Spring 2025
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Unite will be leading from the front, ensuring that all workers involved in the project are on appropriate national agreements and have Unite fighting their corner for the very best jobs, pay and conditions
Jason Poulter, Unite national officer
“At a site like Stanlow, you really have to be skilled and trained to a high standard because the potential for a major accident is high.”
Commenting, Unite national officer for construction Jason Poulter said, “Hynet is an exciting decarbonisation project that will fuel the green construction jobs of the future. It will be a huge boon for the North West and make it a vital hub of low-carbon technology in the UK.
“Unite has long been involved in discussions with other stakeholders from the very outset, and as we approach the different phases of Hynet’s construction, Unite will be leading from the front, ensuring that all workers involved in the project are on appropriate national agreements and have Unite fighting their corner for the very best jobs, pay and conditions.”
• For more on carbon capture see pages 22 to 26
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