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13 November, 2006
A total and complete shutdown of subsea contractors in the UK’s North Sea oil fields by divers and their support staff proved effective, with all 900 of them gaining a 44% wage increase over two years.
The ten-day strike, led by UK’s Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union, an affiliate of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), and an important member of the ICEM/ITF Global Oil and Gas Industry Trade Union Alliance, ended Friday, 10 October, after divers and their support teams ratified the agreement with an 84% vote.
"By any standard, this is a tremendous victory for a group of workers who have displayed grit, determination, and complete solidarity in their campaign to win a fair pay increase,” said RMT General Secretary Bob Crow.
“The strike was total from the first moment, and it is to our members’ immense credit that not one diving support vessel was operational throughout the stoppage.”
The strike shut down seven oil-service companies who operate in both UK and Norwegian waters. RMT divers working in the energy sector in Egypt and Singapore also reportedly joined the strike.
Late in October, divers and support teams rejected by better than a two-to-one margin an employer association offer of 37% over three years. They struck on 1 November, and the rock-solid strike proved too much for the companies, who attempted to get divers to sign individual agreements. The divers do installation and maintenance on underwater wells and pipelines.
The RMT members, who have some of the most dangerous jobs in the North Sea working at depths of up to 130 feet, or 40 metres, won an immediate 25% pay increase, with a further 5% increase coming in April 2007. And then further increases occur throughout 2007 and 2008. They also won entitlement pay for eight public holidays, up from the four that they previously had.
The seven employers that are party to the UK Offshore Diving Industry Agreement include: Acergy, Technip, KD Marine, Integrated Subsea Services (ISS), RBG Ltd., Subsea7, and Well-Ops.