Bristow bosses have revealed an 11% pay rise has been offered to workers amid ongoing strike action.
The company, which has a base at Aberdeen International Airport, provides helicopter transportation to energy customers, search and rescue (SAR) and aircraft support solutions to government and civil organizations.
Bristow helicopter pilots and crew have begun strike action after The British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said it “continues to belligerently ignore their calls for a fair and reasonable pay offer”.
BALPA postponed strikes which were due to take place in March at the 11th hour in a bid to pursue a negotiated settlement.
Now, Bristow bosses are asking their employees to “review and consider” the improved offer as the firm aims to stop industrial action.
Those striking include pilots, technical crew, winch paramedics and winch operators.
A vote in February saw 96.31% back industrial action against the flight operator.
It’s understood the latest deal presented to BALPA included some staff receiving increases of more than 12%.
BALP General Secretary Amy Leversidge said: “We’ve been negotiating with the company in good faith for over a year but they have failed to come up with an offer our members can accept.
“The offer on the table is reliant on cuts to terms and conditions and allowances and was rejected by 95.5% of BALPA ‘s Bristow members on a 93.1 turnout.
“Our members have been loyal to the company though the tough times. Now the company is doing well it needs to recognise the value of its highly trained pilots and tech crew and put a fair and reasonable proposal forward.”
Finding a solution is key, says chief operating officer
Bristow chief operating officer for government services Alan Corbett believes staff are paid well compared to other firms.
He said: “Our priority is to find a solution that allows our people to return to providing the vital services they offer across the country as soon as possible.
© SYSTEM“As such, the latest and improved package offered reflects the important work carried out by the pilots and technical crews employed across Bristow UK, while ensuring the business is competitive to support the rest of our employees, including their colleagues working as part of the UK maintenance team, ground staff, support personnel and beyond.
“Compared to many others, the pilots and technical crews within Bristow’s Search and Rescue and Offshore Energy Services divisions are paid well.
“This is because they deserve to be.
“They carry out critical operations on a day-to-day basis and are an important component of the emergency response and offshore transport sectors in the UK.”
Mr Corbett said the pay rise offer of around 11% for its pilots and crews has been “benchmarked against the industry”.
He said: “We have continued to listen to the direct feedback from our employees and have made several revisions to our latest offer to address each concern our employees have brought forward.
“It is now time for BALPA to show that same level of collaboration and commitment.”
Importance of Bristow workers is ‘appropriately reflected’ in new pay offer
The new offer is a fair reflection and is calling on staff to make their own judgement, according to Mr Corbett.
He said: “We believe the importance of the role our employees play has been appropriately reflected in the offer now on the table.
© Supplied by Bristow“We encourage our employees to review this improved offer and make their own judgement on its merits.
“Help us bring this industrial action to a close as soon as possible.
“It is in the interests of everyone – our colleagues involved in the strike and those not, the members of the public who may require help from the SAR teams, and the broader industries that rely on our services – to bring this to a mutually agreeable conclusion as soon as possible.
“We understand and appreciate these actions impact everyone across our UK workforce and we are thankful for the patience Bristow employees have shown as we work to resolve this issue.”
Ongoing Bristow strike action
The industrial action is due to take place across five weeks on the following dates:
- May 7 – May 9
- May 14 – May 16
- May 21 – May 23
- May 28 – May 30
- June 4 – June 6
It’s understood several different cohorts of pilots and crew will be taking part in the action at certain times during days according to their job and base.
Bristow has a contract until December 2026 to provide SAR operations for His Majesty’s Coastguard. Around 360 people are employed via this contract, according to Bristow’s website, and are mobilised from 10 SAR helicopter bases across the UK.
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