Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Union leaders threaten North Sea walk-out

Post Thumbnail

Union bosses have threatened crippling strike action by North Sea oil workers unless proposed changes to their pay and conditions are scrapped.

Unite insists contractors are using the slump in oil prices to “railroad through” a raft of alterations to pensions, shifts and sick pay.

Around 2,500 workers, including electricians, plumbers, mechanics and riggers, will be asked if they want to be balloted for industrial action.

Branding the changes “opportunistic”, Unite officer Tommy Campbell said: “Following the failure to agree, we will consult our Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) membership asking them to consider a range of responses, including strike action.

“The downturn in oil price has seen our members’ terms and conditions under attack

like never before and while the threat of severe cuts hangs over them, contractors are offering no safeguards in return.

“What we want is for the OCA to work with us to preserve jobs, skills and sustain offshore safety rather than impose these opportunistic, unsustainable and unworkable changes to livelihoods.”

Mr Campbell went on: “Oil prices will recover but knee-jerk cuts to jobs and standards will only undermine the future prosperity and safety of the industry in the long term.”

The Scottish Conservative energy spokesman, Murdo Fraser, condemned the proposed action.

He insisted: “With the difficulties facing the North Sea energy sector, it is hard to see how strike action by workers will do anything but make matters worse.

“I hope that employers will act responsibly in the current situation, realising that short-term cuts will be harmful in the longer term.

“We all want to see North Sea oil and gas have a future, but industrial disputes will just cause greater uncertainty and deter necessary investment.”

The oil industry has been rocked in recent months as several companies laid off workers.

Last August, Shell UK announced it was to cut 250 onshore jobs from its North Sea operation in Aberdeen.

The news came just a month after Chevron announced plans to shed more than 200 jobs in the city.

Earlier this month it was announced that one of the original North Sea oil fields, Brent, was to begin decommissioning.