{"id":8762,"date":"2026-11-03T11:00:21","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/?p=8762"},"modified":"2026-11-03T14:34:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T14:34:34","slug":"apache-offshore-workers-escalate-offshore-strikes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/news\/8762-apache-offshore-workers-escalate-offshore-strikes","title":{"rendered":"Apache offshore workers escalate strikes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Strikes by 170 Apache offshore workers are set to intensify in a dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.<\/p>\n

A 24-hour period of industrial action is scheduled to start from 6am on 4 November for one day, with the Unite union announcing further walkouts over three days which will involve different offshore assets on alternative days.<\/p>\n

The strikes, initially involving members based on the Forties Alpha, Forties Bravo, Forties Delta and Beryl Bravo platforms, will start at 6pm on 13 November, lasting one day. Apache workers on the Forties Charlie, Forties Echo and Beryl Alpha platforms will then strike on 15 November.<\/p>\n

The union has challenged what it called misleading claims from Apache in relation to the pay and working conditions of the offshore workers, arguing that many of them earn significantly below the industry average for their roles. The company also operates a seven days \u2018claw back\u2019 policy which is above the industry average.<\/p>\n

The staff involved include electrical, instrument, mechanical and production technicians, alongside telecoms technicians and radio operators.<\/p>\n

Dougie Maguire, Unite Scottish deputy secretary, said: \u201cMany of our Apache members are being offered a real terms pay cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe previous stoppage brought all seven assets to a standstill, and we have no choice but to escalate our action until Apache gets back round the table with an offer which is acceptable to our members.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Apache spokesperson commented that not all employees in the bargaining unit participated in the 21 October strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, Apache took the operational decision to shut down its North Sea offshore assets for the 24-hour action to ensure the safety of personnel on board,\u201d read the statement. \u201cShutdown and restart were completed safely and without incident, and third-party producers continued operating through the Forties pipeline system as normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring any further industrial action, we will assess staffing and competence on each platform and continue operations where it is safe to do so; where sufficient cover is unavailable, we will shut down in a controlled manner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Apache noted that its pay offer provides a 4% pay increase, in line with that awarded to non-unionised employees earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this offer is fair, competitive within the industry and recognises the contribution of our offshore workforce, employees in the bargaining unit are already among the highest earners in the UK, with highly competitive benefits including double-matched pension contributions, share incentive options, and private health and dental insurance,\u201d the company commented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seven days described as ‘claw back’ are part of employees\u2019 contractual working arrangements and are paid through their base salary, and our current contractual rota arrangements have been operational since January 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect employees\u2019 right to participate in lawful industrial action, should they choose to do so, and remain open to dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Harbour

Harbour is one of the largest producers of oil and gas in the UK North Sea<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n

Separately, strikes involving Wood Group offshore workers are also continuing, as part of a series of stoppages on assets operated by Harbour Energy.<\/p>\n

The dispute is based on Wood\u2019s decision to change pay and conditions for dozens of workers, including the issuing of ‘fire and rehire’ notices.<\/p>\n

The latest round of 48-hour strike action starts on 4 November, with a further 48-hour strike set for 17 to 18 November.<\/p>\n

The Harbour Energy platforms impacted by the industrial disruption include on the Britannia, Jasmine, Judy, Lomond and North Everest. The workers include electrical, production, instrument and mechanical technicians.<\/p>\n

Unite industrial officer Vic Fraser said: \u201cOur members have no option but to escalate their strike action.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wood Group is behaving like a rogue employer; the action including the overtime ban is undoubtedly having a direct impact on the operations of Harbour Energy\u2019s assets as will future escalated action.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Wood spokesperson responded: \u201cWe are aware of industrial action involving one employee working on a single Harbour Energy asset under one of our contracts – participation has been limited to that asset, with no disruption to operations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWood employs approximately 200 people across Harbour Energy assets, and those impacted have accepted revised terms and conditions, which continue to exceed the minimum terms set by the Energy Services Agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWood engaged extensively with employees and trade unions throughout the consultation process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wood offshore workers are also stepping up industrial action on assets operated by Harbour Energy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278857,"featured_media":7125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"coauthors":[137126],"class_list":["post-8762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-featured-story","tag-north-east-scotland"],"yoast_head":"\nApache offshore workers escalate strikes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wood offshore workers are also stepping up industrial action on assets operated by Harbour Energy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebusinessdesk.com\/scotland\/news\/8762-apache-offshore-workers-escalate-offshore-strikes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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