UK oil and gas operators face a ‘tsunami’ of industrial unrest as 1,400 offshore workers ready to down tools
Dozens of UK North Sea oil and gas platforms could be brought to a standstill as hundreds of offshore workers prepare to take strike action.
Unite the union announced that major oil and gas operators in the UK Continental Shelf face a ‘tsunami’ of industrial unrest within weeks as around 1,400 offshore workers across five companies demand a better deal on jobs, pay and conditions.
The action will hit major oil and gas operators including BP, CNRI, EnQuest, Harbour, Ithaca, Shell and Total.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Oil and gas companies have been given free rein to enjoy massive windfall profits in the North Sea; drilling concessions are effectively licences to print money.
“1,400 offshore workers are now set to take strike action against these employers who are raking it but refusing to give them a fair share of the pie. This will create a tsunami of industrial unrest in the offshore sector.”
The prospective action includes electrical, production and mechanical technicians in addition to deck crew, scaffolders crane operators, pipefitters, platers, and riggers working for Bilfinger UK, Stork, Petrofac, Wood and Sparrows.
John Boland, Unite industrial officer, added: “Unite has received unprecedented support in favour of industrial action in the UK Continental Shelf. It is the biggest mandate we have received in a generation in the offshore sector. There is no doubt that this is directly linked to oil and gas companies reaping record profits while the workforce gets scraps from the table.”
A further two industrial action ballots are due this week at Petrofac BP and at Worley Services UK on Harbour Energy platforms, which could bring the final total to around 1,500 offshore workers taking industrial action, Unite said.
