Petrofac offer could avert gas plant strike
UNIONS and management at one of Europe’s largest building sites in Shetland are optimistic they can avert a 24 hour stoppage next week.
On Friday oil services company Petrofac announced they had made an offer to around 800 construction workers who had threatened to walk out next Friday over a dispute about travel and accommodation.
The men, who work three weeks on and one week off, are angry at having to share rooms in the 850 bed accommodation block at Sella Ness near the site where they are building an £800 million gas plant for French oil giant Total.
They want compensation for sharing rooms at Sella Ness and for up to two hours travel time each day for those staying in single rooms in three floating hotels in Lerwick.
Two days of negotiations in Shetland and Aberdeen involving Petrofac management and union bosses from Unite and GMB have resulted in an offer that will be put to members next Tuesday.
It is understood the offer includes compensation of up to £5,500 for men working for the longest amount of time on the site next to BP’s Sullom Voe oil terminal.
The company is also trying to bring a fourth accommodation barge to Shetland to ease pressure on bed space, but has been prevented so far by the current windy weather.
In a statement on Friday, Petrofac’s vice president operations Kurt Reeves said the talks had been “extremely positive”.
“We’ve had a good relationship with the unions throughout and we are very hopeful that the deal we’ve worked out will be acceptable to their membership,” he said.
“As we’ve said all along on the issue of shared accommodation, we make it very clear to anyone considering joining the project that they will be expected to share a room, and they all sign a disclaimer to that effect.
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“Having said that, we take the welfare of our staff very seriously and we are pleased that we have been able to negotiate a solution that should ensure the project continues to be delivered effectively.”
Unite’s regional industrial organiser John Taylor said the negotiating team would fly to Shetland on Tuesday to present the offer to their members and recommend they call off the industrial action.
“When we go up on Tuesday we will have 75 per cent of the workforce there and if they are prepared to call off the industrial action on Friday that will give a general indication they are prepared to accept the offer,” he said.
“There is no guarantee, but we are hopeful.”
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