Breach in Shelf Negotiations – E24

Negotiations in Stavanger between the parties to the operator negotiations, drilling and restoration agreements were interrupted after two days.

Approximately 7,000 employees of the three unions Industri Energi, Safe and Lederne are covered by the trade agreements.

Lill-Heidi Bakkerud has led the negotiations for Industri Energi, which has just over 3,400 members covered by the deal. She says employers have shown no willingness to meet her demands.

– Therefore, we feel obliged to break the negotiations now, says in a press release.

Broke up negotiations

Union leader Hilde-Marie Rysst at Safe also does not think Norwegian oil and gas has enough to offer.

– There was no opportunity to get a result that we could deliver to the members, so we have to meet in Oslo for mediation. The possibility of a strike is imminent, it says in a press release.

Leaders have also halted negotiations with Norwegian Oil and Gas. The leaders have around 1000 members who are covered by the platform agreement.

– Demanding

Norwegian Oil and Gas claims that they made a similar offer to the three unions, but the offer was not accepted, so the agreement now goes to mediation.

Jan Hodneland, director of working life and chief negotiator at Norwegian oil and gas, says the negotiations have been difficult.

– There have been very demanding negotiations along the way because the room for maneuver this year is extremely limited. This is due both to the strict framework that was given on the issue of the front in August, and to the extremely challenging economic situation that the global corona pandemic has inflicted on the Norwegian oil and gas industry, he says.

The around 7,000 employees covered by the rig agreement work as catering and drilling crews at companies such as Equinor ASA, ConocoPhillips Norway, Aker BP, Neptune Energy Norway and Lundin Energy Norway.