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In a statement sent to Rigzone recently, Unite, which describes itself as Scotland’s leading offshore trade union, announced that over 80 Odfjell Technology Ltd drillers have settled a long running dispute over pay and conditions on TAQA installations.
“A revised pay offer by the company was overwhelmingly accepted by 77 percent of Unite’s drillers,” the union said in the statement.
“The pay deal backdated to June 1, 2023, will increase basic salaries by eight percent,” the union added in the statement.
“A fixed contract payment worth around five percent on top of basic monthly salaries will now be fully converted into the basic salary going forward,” it continued.
“In effect, this equates to a 13 percent increase being fully consolidated into pensions, overtime, and future pay increases,” Unite went on to state.
The Unite union noted in the statement that a 15 percent retention bonus upon release from the TAQA contract was also negotiated as part of the pay deal.
“Unite has negotiated and delivered another win in the offshore sector for our members,” Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said in the statement.
“The deal was secured because our members were brave enough to stand up and fight the company to secure better jobs, pay and conditions,” Graham added.
Unite Industrial Officer Vic Fraser said in the statement, “Unite is pleased to have secured a pay victory for our Odfjell Technology drilling members on TAQA installations”.
“The deal was overwhelmingly backed by our members, and it will see a number of major improvements to their terms and conditions,” Fraser added.
Unite highlighted in the statement that its members on TAQA units are based on the Harding, Tern Alpha, East Brae, Brae Alpha, and North Cormorant installations.
The union also noted in the statement that Odfjell Technology (UK) Ltd released its annual accounts on August 29, which Unite said “indicates the company increased its annual profit after taxation to GBP 6.1 million ($7.7 million) in 2022, up from GBP 2.6 million ($3.2 million) in 2021”.
Rigzone asked Odfjell Technology Ltd and TAQA for comment on Unite’s statement. While Odfjell Technology Ltd’s Corporate Secretary and Sustainability Manager, Gillian Basson, revealed that Odfjell Technology (UK) Ltd has no comment on the statement “at this time”, TAQA has not yet responded to Rigzone’s request at the time of writing.
Odfjell Technology describes itself as an integrated supplier of offshore operations, well services technology, and engineering solutions, “delivering safe, efficient, and sustainable operations, reducing time, cost, and carbon emissions”. The company has offices in the UK, Norway, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Thailand, and Malaysia, according to its website.
TAQA describes itself as an international energy and water company operating in 11 countries across four continents. The company notes on its site that its operations in Europe are based in the UK and the Netherlands and focus on strategic energy infrastructure projects, including gas storages and energy innovations, and the full cycle of oil and gas operations, from exploration and production through to decommissioning.
Unite is the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay, and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy, the union states on its site. Graham was elected Unite General Secretary in August 2021.
In a statement posted on its site earlier this year, Unite noted that, since August 2021, there have been over 900 disputes and added that over 150,000 members have been involved in those disputes.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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