North Sea Oil Workers Threaten Strike Over Pay Dispute
Unite union workers threaten to strike at Apache North Sea platforms later this month after pay negotiations broke down over a 4% increase offer.
North Sea oil workers may begin strike action later this month following a breakdown in pay negotiations between the Unite union and Apache North Sea Production. The dispute centers on a 4% pay increase offer from the company, which the union claims constitutes a real-terms pay cut. Unite highlighted that the company's parent entity reported $1.4 billion in after-tax profits last year.
Apache North Sea Production maintains that the offer is fair and consistent with awards given to non-unionized staff earlier this year. The potential strike involves over 160 workers and could halt operations at the Charlie platform. Such a shutdown could disrupt the Forties pipeline system, which handles nearly one-third of the oil and gas for the United Kingdom.
While Unite warns that the action could cause severe disruptions to national fuel supplies, Apache asserts it has contingency plans to maintain safe operations. The company further stated it does not expect the industrial action to affect other producers utilizing the pipeline system.
