Unite union don talk say workers no get any choice again apart from industrial action after pay talks with Texas oil company Apache collapse.
A strike wey oil workers for North Sea dey plan fit ‘severely disrupt’ UK fuel supplies, Unite union talk, as e add say staff no get choice after pay talks with Texas oil company Apache break down.
The union talk say Apache workers ’emphatically’ back strike action after dem give dem wetin e call unacceptable pay offer wey amount to real-terms pay cut for many employees, at a time when company dey ‘raking in eye-watering profits’.
Unite talk say operator also set deadlines for reaching agreement over back pay and show say payments fit dey withheld, ‘leaving workers potentially thousands of pounds out of pocket’.
Apache talk say e ‘engaged constructively throughout the pay discussions’ and add say e offer 4% pay increase for staff, ‘whose earnings already place them among the highest earners in the UK and whose offshore rota averages 153 working days a year’.
Strike action fit start later this month, according to union, and fit involve more than 160 Apache offshore workers, including electrical experts, production technicians and radio operators.
Any action go affect Forties and Beryl oilfields, and fit lead to one critical North Sea platform, known as Charlie, ‘being brought to a standstill’, Unite talk.
That fit ultimately result in whole Forties pipeline system for North Sea – wey dem talk say dey handle almost one third of UK oil and gas – ‘going down’, union talk, adding say disruption fit also ripple out and affect other large North Sea operators.
Unite blame potential disruption on Apache failure to reach pay deal, talk say company behaviour fit get ‘far-reaching consequences for workers, operators and consumers’.
Consumers don already dey grapple with rising fuel and gas prices because of US–Israel war on Iran, wey dey disrupt supplies of crude and refined oil products from Gulf.
On Friday, British motorists collect fresh blow when e come out say average price of diesel climb to record £2 a litre.
At same time dem announce say leaders of G7 nations go release up to 100m barrels of dia emergency diesel and crude oil stockpiles after Donald Trump threaten to cut off supplies of US diesel.
Commenting on potential strike action, Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, talk: ‘We will not tolerate unacceptable pay offers.’
Stevie Davies, Unite industrial officer, talk any disruption to Apache platforms ‘would have a direct hit on the Forties pipeline and potentially severely affect the UK’s fuel supplies’.
Texas-based APA Corporation, wey be parent company behind Apache North Sea Production, report $1.4bn (£1.1bn) in after-tax profits and $9.2bn in revenues for last year.
‘We believe our final offer to the union is fair and recognises the contribution of our offshore workforce, alongside the wider benefits in our total rewards package,’ Apache talk.
‘The proposed pay increase is also in line with that awarded to our non-unionised employees earlier this year.’
Apache also talk say e get contingency plans in place, and say e no expect any strike action to affect other producers and dia ability to operate through Forties pipeline system.
The plans include keeping ‘experienced personnel’ on key sites, and e talk say any reduction in pipeline pressure as result of industrial action go be similar to wetin happen during routine maintenance outages.
‘As a responsible operator, we are planning to maintain safe operations throughout any industrial action,’ Apache add.
Planned strikes by Neo Next offshore workers, organised by Unite, were called off this summer after dem secure deal wey union talk lift pay package by more than £4,000.
The deal was reached days before workers were due to start series of strikes from 22 July.
Ineos, wey operate Forties pipeline system, was contacted for comment.
