Fife based Oceaneering workers balloted on strike action after pay offer rejected

Around 90 union members working for Oceaneering in Fife will vote on taking strike action after rejecting a pay offer.

Unite the Union said 84% of workers at the Port of Rosyth rejected an offer from Oceaneering (NYSE: OII)of a 6% pay increase plus a one-off payment of £500.

Unite said the strike ballot opens on October 18 and closes on November 8.

Headquartered in Houston, with an office in Aberdeen, Oceaneering provides subsea engineering services and products primarily to the offshore oil and gas industry.

Unite said its affected members are specialist process workers who manufacture umbilical cables to support various offshore oil and gas installations.

Union decries ‘massive real terms pay cut’

The pay dispute comes after the workers received a 1% pay increase in 2022, which Unite said represented a “massive real terms pay cut” due to inflation reaching 14%.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union members at Oceaneering are highly skilled workers providing specialist products for the “obscenely lucrative” offshore sector.

“They are rightly demanding to have their pay boosted to help meet the cost of living crisis,” Ms Graham said.

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“The Rosyth based workers will have Unite’s full support in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions at Oceaneering.”

Unite industrial officer Bob MacGregor said the offer made by Oceaneering did not address cost of living concerns.

“There are around 90 workers who suffered a massive real terms pay cut last year,” he said.

“The offer on the table from Oceaneering doesn’t get anywhere close to addressing this situation along with the ongoing cost of living crisis.

“The company is also reporting that it is coming back into profit and our members are looking for a fair pay offer to reflect their skilled work.”

In July, Oceaneering forecast net income for 2023 to be in the range of $75 million to $90 million (£61.6 million to £73.9 million).

Oceaneering will report its third quarter results for 2023 on October 25.

Energy Voice contacted Oceaneering for comment.