A pay dispute among North Sea oil contractors is set to cause significant disruptions, affecting more than 20 oil and gas platforms.
Sparrow Offshore Services’ workers, including offshore crane operators, deck crew, crane maintainers, and the company’s “flying squad,” will stage several multiday protests over the next two months, resulting in more than two weeks’ worth of strike action starting from April 5 to June 9.
The industrial action will impact contractors at platforms run by Apache, Harbour Energy, and Shell, and dozens of other firms on the continental shelf could also face work stoppages over pay.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated that oil firms had seen “massive windfall profits,” making it feasible for them to provide a decent pay increase to union members.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Sparrow Group expressed disappointment that the parties had not reached an agreement, adding that the company proposed to continue with its existing alignment and increase other existing elements to outweigh the reduction in some terms and conditions since 2016.
