Union Hails Massive Win in Wage Deal

Unite the union has hailed a “massive win” in a wage deal for around 100 people working on a Canadian Natural Resources (CNR) contract for Petrofac. 

The union revealed that it had recently entered negotiations with Petrofac where the company agreed to re-instate a 10 percent salary reduction made in 2020 and to remove a one-week “clawback”, which is described as a week extra worked without any increase in wages, with effect from November 1. 

The new offer equates to a 17 percent increase in salary and was accepted by 100 percent in a 93 percent ballot turnout, according to the union, which highlighted that the workers are employed on the Ninian Central, Ninian South and Tiffany platforms.

“This is a massive win for Pertofac workers which will send reverberations around the offshore sector,” Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said in a union statement.

“It is yet another example of Unite winning in the fight for jobs pay and conditions for its members. The message is clear - when workers supported by Unite take a stand we can win together,” Graham added in the statement.

Commenting on the development, Unite industrial officer John Boland said, “the Petrofac workers have taken a massive hit over the last 18 months in terms of cuts to pay, and their terms and conditions”.

“However, through fighting back, and more workers joining Unite, we have been able to increase their wages by up to 17 percent. The union members took a stand and won,” Boland went on to say.

The Ninian field is comprised of three fixed platforms and located in the northern North Sea, around 240 miles north-northeast of Aberdeen, Canadian Natural Resources highlights on its website. The Lyell field is a subsea tie-back with production via subsea manifold to the Ninian South platform and the Columba fields are developed utilizing extended reach wells drilled from the Ninian South and Central platforms, Canadian Natural Resources notes. The Ninian North platform is in the process of being decommissioned, Canadian Natural Resources outlines.

The Tiffany field is located in the central portion of the North Sea, around 155 miles north east of Aberdeen. The Toni and Thelma fields are subsea tie-backs, with production via subsea manifolds to the Tiffany platform, Canadian Natural Resources shows on its site, adding that Tiffany began first production in 1993.

Unite is the foremost union in energy with members in every form of power generation, as well as in distribution, network and retail operations, the organization’s website states. The union describes itself as effective and well organized in the sector thanks to high union density and longstanding recognition agreements.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com