28 July 2016
RMT Press Office:
RMT and Unite members in second day of strike action on Wood Group Shell assets over attacks on pay and conditions.
From RMT press office.
RMT members on the Wood Group Shell assets continue with second day of strike action in a fight over cuts of up to 30% to pay.
Press picture hand out of staff on the Brent Charlie Platform this morning. Credit: RMT.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“RMT members are standing solid and determined in the second day of strike action in response to savage attacks on pay and working conditions by the Wood Group across their Shell operated assets.
“The workforce is united in a fight which is drawing in huge support from across the global trade union movement and we welcome the assistance of the International Transport Federation in mobilising that support for the RMT and Unite members fighting for pay justice on the platforms today.
"The union also welcomes the political support for the action which is reflected in the motion to the Scottish Parliament tabled by Elaine Smith today. (copy below).
“The threat of pay cuts of up to 30%, while the company bosses are raking it in, has triggered this dispute which is yet another indictment of the state of corporate Britain today. The company need to recognise the anger, respect their workforce and withdraw this vicious assault on our members standards of living.”
Ends
Motion S5M-00866: Elaine Smith, Central Scotland, Scottish Labour, Date Lodged: 27/07/2016 R
North Sea Industrial Action
That this Parliament supports the members of the Unite and RMT trade unions in their dispute with the North Sea contractor, Wood Group PSN, over a proposed cut to pay and terms and conditions of up to 30%; understands that the industrial action taken on seven Shell platforms is the first in the North Sea since the early 1990s when the industry was resisting post-Piper Alpha reform; further understands that over 85,000 jobs offshore and in the supply chain have been lost since the oil price collapsed in 2014, resulting in an average reduction of 20% in staff levels on platforms across the UK North Sea; is deeply concerned that contractual cuts, shift increases and bigger workloads for the remaining staff mean that offshore workers are now expected to work an average of 300 hours more a year with heavier workloads but for no extra pay, while directly employed Shell staff on the same platforms work shorter hours and have longer leave entitlement, as well as higher pay; believes that Wood Group PSNs highest paid director received pay and benefits in 2015 of £345,000 and that the parent company, Wood Group plc, awarded a 28% pay rise to one executive and paid out a dividend to shareholders of £79 million; is concerned that morale among offshore workers is low and has been further eroded by legitimate anxieties over safety on understaffed installations and on helicopter transport; believes that Scotland’s maximum economic benefit from declining North Sea oil and gas reserves is undermined by poor employment practices by contractors and oil companies in the North Sea, and calls on the Scottish Government to support this industrial action and good industrial relations in the offshore industry in order to maximise Scotland’s economic benefit from the offshore oil and gas industry, including the decommissioning sector.
Supported by: Andy Wightman, Alison Johnstone
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