Norwegian oil drilling labour unions seek mediation as wage talks falter

Archer

24/05/2023 04:53

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 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 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.
    Companies affected by the talks include Transocean  RIG.N ,
Saipem  SPMI.MI , Odfjell Drilling ODLO.OL, 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))