Norwegian oil workers’ strike averted

A strike by Norwegian offshore oil workers was averted through an agreement with employers, Norwegian unions IE&FLT and Safe Labour announced.

Negotiations lasted two days, with Offshore Norway acting as mediator, before a deal was agreed that would see an average pay rise for offshore workers of 36,000 Norwegian krone (£2,700) from 1 June 2024.

“We are pleased to have reached an agreement and to avoid strikes on site,” said IE&FLT Vice-Chair Lill-Heidi Bakkerud.

In addition, salaries will increase by a further 6,500 krone (£500) from 1 January 2025.

“We have reached an acceptable financial agreement. At the same time, we have taken important measures that will improve the working lives of our members,” added Bakkerud.

The contract covers over 6,000 members of IE&FLT and about 1,200 members of Safe. The planned strikes would have led to the dismissal of around 140 workers at companies such as SLB, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Oceaneering and Weatherford.

The minimum wage for skilled workers is now 250.30 krone (£18.63) per hour; workers without professional experience receive 226.90 krone (£16.89) per hour.

Workers with at least one year of relevant industry experience will receive 235.80 krone (£17.55) per hour and workers under 18 will receive 153.83 krone (£11.45) per hour.

Other benefits for Norwegian offshore workers include an increased night shift allowance of 106 krone (£7.90) per hour and an increase in the holiday allowance to 2,300 krone (£171) per day.

“In addition, we have achieved acceptance that workers are entitled to a minimum of 36 hours’ non-working time in an available period of at least four weeks between two periods of stay,” said Bakkerud.

Last month, Norway avoided similar strike action by agreeing a collective agreement covering 7,300 offshore workers from the Lederne, Safe and IE&FLT unions.