– Spoken for deaf ears – E24

169 of the leaders’ members went on strike following the escalation of the oil strike on Monday night.

The strike affects production in a total of six fields and reduces Norway’s oil and gas production by around 8 percent.

Audun Ingvartsen is the leader of the employee organization. He says there has been no formal movement between the parties after midnight.

– Yesterday we experienced that we spoke with deaf ears and that there was no real will on the other side, says Ingvartsen by phone with E24.

Requires agreement

The leaders demand a collective agreement, so that they as a union can “take care of the members who are involved in the restructuring and say yes to the work in the control rooms,” according to Ingvartsen.

The managers want the platform agreement, that is, the agreement for personnel working at sea, to also apply on land. The employers’ side, Norwegian Oil and Gas, is critical of this.

Information manager Kolbjørn Andreassen of Norwegian Oil and Gas says they can’t give them the deal.

– We believe that it is outside the collective agreement. It applies to people at sea, not on land. If they get it the way they want, they will land in offshore conditions.

– Among the highest paid in Norway

Andreassen notes that salary negotiations were postponed due to the crown. There was a moderate pay cut of 1.7 percent.

– And with a price increase of 1.4 percent, it means an increase in real wages. It is very relevant that we have a global pandemic. The rest of society relates to him. It’s strange that leaders don’t.

Industry Energy and Safe get 1.7 percent, and what the leaders are demanding is much higher, according to Andreassen.

– They require an extended range and significantly higher supplements than all the others. We are talking about one of the highest paid working groups in Norway.

Leaders say Norwegian oil and gas use the crown crisis as an argument for restraint, but Andreassen believes they do not use the crown as an excuse.

– We observe the real conditions: unemployment is now double than before the crown. At the same time, the price of oil has fallen to around $ 40 a barrel from 66 at the beginning of the year. It is related to the crown and occurs as a result of lower demand and lower production of goods.

Principle case

Ingvartsen in Lederne says the other two unions, Industry and Energy in LO and Safe in YS, have an agreement on the land.

– We have demanded to obtain the same. The solution is there. The other two unions sit and hope that we don’t get the deal, because then they can say that the employees should come and join them.

The difference is that employers must deal with three unions, instead of two, according to Ingvartsen.

– We have been the association that has aligned the most and we have been good partners. This is principled and should be relatively undramatic.