GMB Scotland Regional Committee has determined that the views of its members in the N. Sea offshore energy industry be established via a consultative ballot on possible strike action following unilateral changes to working conditions for workers covered by the Offshore Contractors Agreement (OCA) in UK waters.
This is in response to a request by officers to seek permission from the GMB Scotland Regional Committee to move to an official ballot of members for strike action on the issue.
Several meetings have taken place with OCA member companies around the issues of rota changes, rates of pay, sick pay, holiday patterns with no progress resulting in “failures to agree” being lodged says GMB Scotland.
John Kelly, GMB Regional Officer, said “GMB Scotland Regional Committee has been told that several meetings have taken place with OCA member companies around the issues of rota changes, rates of pay, sick pay, holiday patterns.
“The first of these resulted in no progress been reached and employers going ahead with pushing through the client’s agenda for unilateral changes.
“These have resulted in “failures to agree” being lodged and meetings set up between National Officers of Unite and GMB and the OCA.
“GMB Scotland Regional Committee has decided that officers and shop stewards should first proceed to a consultative ballot of our members across the OCA member companies on this issue”.
The Regional Committee want to seek and establish the views of the membership on how the unions should challenge these attacks on terms and conditions in the OCA agreement and whether members want to move to an official ballot on the issue.
The consultative ballot will take place over the coming weeks.
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy