Norwegian oil drilling labour unions seek mediation as wage talks falter

Archer

19/05/2022 22:40

OSLO, May 19 (Reuters) - Wage talks involving around 8,000
oil drilling workers in Norway broke down on Thursday, labour
unions said, raising the risk of strike action that would
disrupt oil and gas exploration.
    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 most likely have only a marginal
impact on production of oil and gas in the short-term, but could
have a greater impact in the medium- to long-term as expansion
projects and the start-up of new fields would be delayed.
    Companies affected by the talks include Transocean  RIG.N ,
Saipem  SPMI.MI , Odfjell Drilling  ODLO.OL , Maersk Drilling
 DRLCO.CO , Archer  ARCHA.OL , Seadrill  SDRL.OL  and others.
    The unions represent workers on mobile offshore units as
well as platform drilling on permanent installations.
    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)
 ((terje.solsvik@thomsonreuters.com; +47 918 666 70))