Petrofac workers start new round of North Sea strikes

By Andrew Dykes

December 29 2022, 6:00 am

BP platforms affected by the stoppages include Clair Ridge, west of Shetland.

Petrofac workers will down tools for 48 hours on BP and Repsol Sinopec assets in the UK North Sea from today.

Disputes over pay and rota patterns show no sign of a resolution.

Workers employed by Petrofac on the Repsol Sinopec-operated Montrose platform, and those on a swathe of BP installations will down tools as part of two separate strike actions due to start at 6am.

It follows a series of official and unofficial strike actions across the North Sea this year, with unions warning further action is likely to continue well into 2023.

Equal time payment row

According to Unite, the Montrose dispute centres on the removal of a 10% equal time payment and years of below inflationary pay increases for Petrofac workers.

Issues around “payments for Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) medicals, mileage and stand in duties” have also played a part.

Last week, Unite general-secretary Sharon Graham said Unite’s members were “watching offshore oil and gas giants mount up eye-watering profits instead of paying the workforce what they deserve”.

She added: “Unite supports and will continue to support our members at Petrofac for as long as it takes for them to achieve a successful resolution.”

Repsol Sinopec Resourses UK’s Montrose Alpha platform. Image: Simon Price/Firstpix Photography

In a separate dispute, Petrofac workers on BP installations including Andrew, Clair, Clair Ridge, Etap, and the Glen Lyon floating production storage and offloading vessel are also starting 48-hour strike action.

A total of 75 workers are expected to participate in the work stoppage as part of a dispute over offshore work rotations, currently based on a three on, three off pattern.

Unite industrial officer John Boland told Energy Voice, sister publication to The Press and Journal, that no new offers had been tabled in either of the disputes.

BP’s Clair Ridge development west of Shetland. Image: Stuart Conway/PA Wire

Further notices of strike action on Repsol Sinopec assets, including Montrose, are being submitted to Petrofac.

Mr Boland has previously accused Petrofac of showing indifference and intransigence to Unite’s members, leaving them with no choice but to take further strike action.

He added: “The Petrofac workers are absolutely determined to continue with strike action because the company can easily afford to settle this dispute.

“We would encourage them once again to do so and allow these workers to get back on with the job.”