UK union details dates of upcoming strikes at Total’s North Sea assets

UK union details dates of upcoming strikes at Total’s North Sea assets

 

The UK’s Unite trade union on Tuesday said it would begin strike action at a number of Total-operated assets in the UK North Sea on March 11 following a vote last week to take industrial action in a dispute over offshore rotas.

Unite said workers would down tools for three 24-hour strikes at the Elgin-Franklin, North Alwyn and Dunbar platforms on March 11, March 27 and April 12, as well as striking for three-hour periods on numerous days from March 18-April 5.

Workers are also set to strike at the Shetland Gas Plant for 24 hours on five days in March, April and May.

The announcement signals a resumption of a dispute over rotas that last year caused five days of strikes, reducing gas output by as much as 13 million cu m/d and oil output by around 70,000 b/d.

However, in this instance, Unite is formally in dispute with two service companies that operate day-to-day production under contract to Total: Aker Solutions and Petrofac.

As well as affecting North Sea fields such as Elgin-Franklin, the dispute would disrupt output from the UK’s largest gas production hub, in the West of Shetland area.

Unite said the dispute centered on changes to shift patterns and a bid “to reduce the existing terms and conditions at the behest of parent company Total.”

STRIKE DATES AT KEY TOTAL ASSETS

24-hour strikes at Elgin-Franklin, North Alwyn, Dunbar

March 11
March 27
April 12

3-hour strikes at Elgin-Franklin, North Alwyn, Dunbar (local time)

7 am, March 18
7 pm, March 18
7 am, March 20
7 pm, March 20
7 am, March 22
7 pm, March 22
7 am, April 1
7 pm, April 1
7 am, April 3
7 pm, April 3
7 am, April 5
7 pm, April 5

24-hour strikes at Shetland Gas Plant

March 13
March 27
April 10
April 27
May 8

Source: Unite

Published: 26-02-2019