North sea oil workers set to strike
By Jamie Cocozza, Unite member
On the 24th of July, the Unite and RMT unions will stage a 24-hour strike across eight Shell oil and gas platforms as the first step in an organised campaign of industrial action over the summer. The mood is summed up by the huge mandate for action: both unions saw ballot returns over 98% voting in favour of strike action and a work to rule. Almost 400 workers employed by the Wood Group will be involved in the action.
The Wood Group, who supply labour to the eight Shell platforms involved, are intent on cutting pay and allowances by up to thirty per cent to maintain profitability, including a change to the shift cycle which would mean working extra weeks offshore with no extra pay. This follows on from attacks last year at the onset of the oil crisis.
Unite regional officer John Boland said: “Strike action by our members is not a decision they take lightly, but they have been pushed to the limit by an employer unwilling to rethink proposals to slash their pay and allowances.
“This is the third series of redundancies, and cuts to our members wages and terms and conditions in the last two years. Our members have already made sacrifices and are experiencing the effects of the imposition of a three week working cycle which means more time offshore and less time with their families, for the same salary.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of a 24-hour walk out at the Fawley refinery in Hampshire when it transpired foreign workers were being paid less than half of the rate for the job. Furthermore, unofficial action took place in some North Sea platforms in April, which provided an important springboard for the impending action.
The main parties of big business (and big oil and gas) in Holyrood and Westminster have remained silent over the impending action, which is not surprising given the various tax breaks for investment and exploration handed out to companies like Shell. Despite profit levels falling by a fifth, the Wood Group still managed to record £105m in profits in 2015 and increased dividends to shareholders by ten per cent, with the intention of at least matching that rise this year.
The global slowdown in the oil and gas sector has led to 8,000 job losses in the North Sea oilfields, with more to follow and an onslaught on pay and terms and conditions underway. It is estimated that 120,000 jobs linked to the oil sector across the UK will go by the end of the year.
On Friday 22nd July, trade unionists and workers, including supporters of the National Shop Stewards Network (see picture) protested outside Shell garages against the Wood Group’s intention to offer Shell scab labour during the upcoming strike action. Resentment towards the bosses, given long-standing health and safety concerns in the industry, will only be intensified by such dangerous strike-breaking methods.
Socialist Party Scotland stood as part of the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in the 2015 General Election and the 2016 Scottish Parliament Election. TUSC were the only organisation standing to make a clear call for a publicly owned oil and gas sector. Socialist Party Scotland stand fully behind the industrial action taking place and urge all socialists and trade unionists to offer their support in what could be a very significant industrial dispute this summer.
