Strike action is due to continue today on North Sea platforms operated by French oil giant Total.
The row centres on Total’s plans to switch workers’ rotas from two weeks on, three weeks off to three on, three off.
Workers voted to down tools in a series of 24 hour and 12 hour strikes.
The first 24-hour strikes halted production on the Alwyn, Dunbar and Elgin rigs on July 23.
A 12-hour stoppage is scheduled to start today at noon.
The Unite trade union said late last week that talks with Total had broken down and that strike action would continue until the end of October.
The latest production data on the Oil and Gas Authority’s website indicates that the three fields pump out more than 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day combined. At today’s Brent crude price of $74, that equates to production worth around £4 million daily.
Tensions between Total and workers have been fraught since Total announced it would increase security after a week of rancour with staff concerning a wage review, feared changes to shift patterns and anger over the firm’s plans to hold a barbecue in the midst of redundancies.
In an internal memo, Total said it would introduce “security measures” at its headquarters in Westhill, Crawpeel House in Aberdeen, Shetland Gas Plant and its warehouses and quayside.
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