Offshore workers vote for industrial action in pay dispute
Unite said it was time employees reaped the rewards of an increase in the price of crude oil.
Offshore workers have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over pay.
Unite members covered by the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) agreement are seeking a 4% basic pay increase.
The vote came after members rejected a revised OCA pay offer in July.
The union said it was time for employees to “share in the rewards” of an increase in the price of crude oil over the past year after job cuts and changes to shift rotas.
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish secretary, said: “Thousands of Unite members in the offshore sector have sent the OCA employers a clear message through these industrial action ballots.
“We have suffered too much for too long through sweeping cuts to jobs and pay alongside the growing introduction of 3/3 shift rotas.
“Now it is time that we share in the rewards. We hope the result encourages the industry to revisit their paltry offer or it will face widespread industrial action disruption created through their own greed and intransigence.”
The OCA represents contractor companies involved in a range of activities in the UK’s offshore oil and gas industry.
Unite confirmed it will attend talks scheduled for Tuesday with a view to resolving the pay dispute.
