Norway oil drilling labour unions seek mediation as wage talks falter (updated)

Archer

24/05/2023 11:28

* 
      Oil exploration workers' wage talks break down
    

        * 
      No strike allowed before mediation talks 
    

        * 
      Risk of strike later in year if mediation fails
    

        * 
      Production workers separately agreed deal this month
    

  
 (Adds detail on union demands, industry comments and background
in paragraphs 4-12)
       OSLO, May 24 (Reuters) - Wage talks involving around
8,000 oil drilling workers in Norway broke down early on
Wednesday, labour unions said, raising the risk of strike action
later this year that would disrupt exploration but is unlikely
to affect output.
    The talks between the Norwegian Shipowners' Association
(NSA) and the Safe, Industri Energi and DSO unions will resume
at a later date under the leadership of a state-appointed
mediator, and could end in a strike if those negotiations fail.
    Any industrial action would be unlikely to impact production
of oil and gas in the short-term, but could have a greater
impact in the longer term as expansion projects and the start-up
of new fields could be delayed.
    Norwegian petroleum production workers, who are directly
employed by companies such as Equinor  EQNR.OL  and Conoco
Phillips  COP.N , reached a wage agreement earlier this month,
preventing strikes at major oil and gas fields.
    The drilling workers, who negotiate separately from those
directly involved in production, last went on a strike in 2018,
affecting about 0.5% of Norway's combined oil and gas output at
the time.
    
    'NOT ACCEPTABLE'
    Companies affected by the talks include Transocean  RIG.N ,
Saipem  SPMI.MI , Odfjell Drilling  ODLO.OL , Archer  ARCHA.OL ,
Seadrill  SDRL.OL  and others.
    Labour unions, representing workers on mobile offshore units
as well as platform drilling on permanent installations, had
sought a pay increase that improved their purchasing power, Safe
said.
    "The offer on the table was not acceptable to our members,"
Safe leader Hilde-Marit Rysst said in a statement.
    The Norwegian government earlier this month predicted
consumer prices will rise by 5.4% this year.
    The NSA, representing rig companies, said unions had failed
to take into account the market prospects for the drilling
industry.
    "They wouldn't accept an offer that was in line with other
parts of the industry," NSA chief negotiator Geir Sjoeberg said
in a statement.
    Under Norway's tightly regulated collective bargaining
system, workers are only eligible to go on strike if the
mediation also fails.

 (Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))