UK-based workers' union Unite said Tuesday that offshore workers employed by Petrofac on the FPF1 platform and the Wood Group UK Limited on TAQA platforms were being balloted for strike action.
Unite said that the latest offshore disputes were part of "a growing wave of industrial unrest hitting the United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS)."
Over 1300 Unite members are now involved in a series of disputes. This includes Petrofac Facilities Management Ltd. on BP’s platforms, Odfjell Technology Ltd, Stork, and Bilfinger.
About 50 people who work on the FPF1 platform are involved in the latest Petrofac Facilities Management Limited dispute. The dispute is related to working rotas.
"The company made a profit of £12.5 million in 2020 in its last lodged full accounts. Offshore workers can be asked to work at any time for no additional payment. The operator Ithaca Energy has a ‘clawback’ policy of 14 days which is significantly above the industry norm of 7 days. 14 days financially is approximately equivalent to £6,000 lost income per person. The ballot includes electrical, production, and mechanical technicians in addition to deck crew, scaffolders, and crane operators," Unite said.
The FPF1 is located around 240km east of Aberdeen, in the Greater Stella Area production hub. It is owned and operated by Ithaca Energy (UK) a subsidiary of the Israeli-based Delek Group.
Wood Group dispute
Separately, Unite said it was balloting around 80 members working for the Wood Group UK Ltd on TAQA platforms - Cormorant Alpha, North Cormorant, and Tern Alpha.
"Unite is demanding the reinstatement of a 10 percent cut to salaries made in 2015 worth around £7,000 a year, and an enhanced redundancy and retention scheme. The ballot includes electrical, production, and mechanical technicians along with pipefitters, platers, riggers and deck crew," Unite said.
Both ballots run for four weeks opening on February 17 and closing on March 17. Any industrial action could take place in early April following a successful ballot.
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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Corporate greed in the oil and gas industry is at its peak in our lifetime. BP and Shell recently announced combined record profits totaling £55 billion. Offshore workers, including our members at Petrofac and the Wood Group, however, are not seeing any of these record profits flowing into their pay packets. There is now a growing wave of industrial unrest hitting the offshore sector and Unite will support our members every step of the way in the fight for better jobs, pay, and conditions.”
John Boland, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite is balloting our Petrofac members on the FPF1 platform and those employed by the Wood Group on TAQA platforms. At the heart of both these disputes is a failure to provide a decent and safe working environment, whether that relates to salary cuts, working rotas or enforcing draconian clawback days. Our members are rightly angry at the corporate arrogance shown by offshore operators and contractors, and they are prepared to take them head on.”
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