Unions are to hold two protests at Wood Group offices and Shell premises in Aberdeen tomorrow in support of offshore staff taking part in the first strike action in 28 years.
Unite said strike action will begin from 6.30am in the morning across Shell’s North Sea assets.
An overtime ban was already but in place from today.
RMT is also taking part in the strike action with Unite, which comes despite talks held by the conciliation service Acas.
Around 400 workers will be involved with the strike action.
Wood Group has been in continued negotiation with staff over changes to their pay and conditions.
However, workers disagree with the move, insisting the cuts will have a huge impact on their livelihoods.
Unite said it was “still committed” to talks with Wood Group bosses.
Regional officer John Boland said:“To say we are disappointed it has had to come to this is an understatement, but bosses at Wood Group are simply not listening. This dispute is the first in the North Sea in three decades and shows the strength of feeling of our members who feel backed into a corner and left with no other option but to use their industrial strength to make Wood Group listen.
“Our members have been faced with changes to shift patterns which have seen them working longer offshore for the same pay and as well as having three rounds of redundancies imposed on them. This attack on their pay and allowances has pushed our members too far this time.
“For decades, oil and gas companies across the North Sea have made hay while the sun shone and become very profitable on the back of the hard work and dedication of our members. Now the weather has turned for the industry, they are using the downturn to attack the pay, terms and conditions of our members.
“Unite has the strongest possible mandate for this action, but stands committed to further talks with Wood Group bosses. However, they must significantly improve their position by withdrawing the threats to reduce pay and remove allowances. No request for an eleventh-hour meeting has been made by Wood Group bosses.”
Oil major Shell has said it does not expect to see an impact on production on the affected assets.
Wood Group boss Dave Stewart said while it was “disappointed” by the decision to strike, it respected the decision of staff to do so.
Earlier this month, Energy Voice spoke to one worker who claimed his salary would be impacted by as much as £20,000 if he was to sign a new contract with the company.
It’s understood some of the changes in dispute between employees and Wood Group are to salary structure which includes “inclusive payments”.
There were payments for overtime, nightshift, Christmas and New Year paid regardless of what was actually worked by staff member.
The new terms and conditions mean workers will be paid a base salary while additional elements of overtime and other holiday payments will be paid as staff work them.
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