An Offshore Industrial dispute is set to escalate as the companies involved have issued redundancy notices to its workers before considering re-employing them.

Aker and Petrofac have issued redundancy notices  and begun a consultation period on terminating and re-engaging all workers. A thirty day (Aker) and forty-five day (Petrofac) consultation period will begin respectively for both companies.

Following the redundancy notices being issued, the Trade Union Unite has issued further dates of industrial action on the Elgin-Franklin, North Alwyn and Dunbar platforms as part of discontinuous strike action. This will now consist of two 24-hour stoppages commencing at 07:00 hours on:

•       19th March 2019
•       2nd April 2019

The action follows the continuous ban on overtime which is scheduled to commence at 00:01 hours on 11th March 2019, and the three 24-hour stoppages already scheduled to commence at 07:00 hours on the following dates.

•       11th March 2019
•       27th March 2019
•       12th April 2019’

John Boland, Unite regional industrial officer, said:

“The actions by Aker and Petrofac at the behest of Total are brutal and scandalous. Instead of responding to the legitimate concerns our members have over the imposition of the hated 3:3 or 3:4 rotas in a responsible and constructive manner, the companies have responded by serving redundancy notices.

“This disgraceful behaviour will not go unchallenged and for this reason we have had no option but to increase the scheduled days of industrial action. Unite will robustly defend the interests of our members and will confront any intimidation by Aker and Petrofac blow by blow until they see sense.”

Unite members at the Shetland Gas Plant are also seriously considering further industrial action due to Aker serving redundancy notices to the workforce on the same basis.

Further dates for escalated industrial action will be announced in due course. A series of 24 hour stoppages have already been announced between 00.01-00.00 on the following days at the Shetland Gas plant:

• Wednesday 13th March 2019
• Wednesday 27th March 2019
• Wednesday 10th April 2019
• Wednesday 24th April 2019
• Wednesday 8th May 2019

John Clark, Unite regional industrial officer, said:

“The severe actions taken by Aker at the Shetland Gas Plant shows complete disregard for Unite’s members whose loyalty has been rewarded with attempts to impose the dreaded 3:3/3:4 rota system. No constructive dialogue has been afforded through the period of negotiation with a take it or leave it attitude being stubbornly emphasised by Aker’s representatives. This draconian behaviour will be fiercely challenged and Unite will continue to defend the interests of all its members in the forthcoming dispute.”

Unite members on the Elgin-Franklin platform voted 88.2% for industrial action; Shetland Gas Plant by 95.1%  and on the North Alwyn and Dunbar platforms by 93.9%