The Offshore Contractors Association so-called “agreement”, entered into with Amicus (Unite) and GMB in 2000, is dead — and not before time! It was a fraud from beginning to end. Its only purpose was to head off workforce ballots under the Employment Rights Act that could have put in place a legally binding negotiating agreement, had 40% of employees voted for it. The ballots never took place because the offshore employers signed the sweetheart agreement with Amicus just prior to the ballot provisions becoming law.
Wage stagnation, denial of paid holiday rights and the perpetuation of the curse of NRB (not required back) have been the fruits of the Amicus sweetheart agreement. The collapse of the OCA-Amicus deal at last offers offshore workers the opportunity to get what is their due — the proper rate for the job, 4-weeks paid holiday and an end to arbitrary and unfair employment practices.
PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release
16-12-08
THE OCA "agreement" IS DEAD!
It has always been the position of OILC/RMT that the real paymasters in the offshore industrial relations scene are the oil companies and the rig owners. We consider organisations like the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) as barriers, put in place to protect the operators from any threat of dispute or requirement to get involved in negotiating pay and conditions. But no more! Apache Inc, the Forties Field operator, has broken ranks with the rest of the operators and is saying NO!
NO – to 4-weeks paid leave for all OCA contract staff employed by RBG and Wood Group, despite this being ‘agreed’ with all OCA member companies, and;
NO – to a 4.3% pay increase back dated to April 1st 2008, despite this also being ‘agreed’ by all the OCA employers.
RMT Regional Organiser Jake Molloy said; “It is over for the OCA. After all, what can possibly be gained from so-called ‘negotiations’ with employers who cannot deliver on what has supposedly been ‘agreed’? It’s time for the ‘monkeys’ to move over and make way for real agreements with the ‘organ grinders’, Oil and Gas UK.” (OGUK)
Negotiations of the type referred to by Molloy reflect the position in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea where all of the trade unions representing all of the workers meet with the organisations “OLF” (the UK equivalent of OGUK) and the “Ship owners” or “NR”, the organisation representing the mobile rig fleet. The system has worked for decades in Norway, and with the same oil companies and rig owners that work here in the UK sector.
Jake Molloy said; “It makes sense to adopt this approach in the UK because most of the larger OCA companies are now sitting at the OGUK board room table as operators in their own right. Outfits like Wood Group, Amec, Aker, Petrofac, and PSN, are all now operators. And these are operators of all types of production facilities.”
Jake Molloy called for the entire industrial relations scene to be fundamentally changed here in the UK claiming the decision by Apache Inc supports the union’s argument. He said; “Yes we can criticise Apache Inc for denying the troops their holidays and pay increase. The company’s actions are certainly not in keeping with the people associated with the company name, the ‘Apache’ people are a proud and honourable race. Instead, Apache Inc bring shame to the name and are behaving like unruly cowboys hell-bent on causing trouble! Yes oil dipped to below $50 bucks for the first time in a couple of years, so all of a sudden it’s a crisis! Mind you, their behaviour wasn’t much better when it was almost $150 bucks, in fact even when the mega-dollars were rolling in Apache and others still delayed the 2007 pay increase for almost a year!
“For years we’ve been critical of the OCA partnership deal and others, because they are deals that deny workers basic human rights to organise and have input to their terms and conditions. We have always said deals like the OCA agreement were a sham, created to protect the oil companies and prevent contract workers organising. As regards these injustices, including denying the right of workers to select the union of their choice for collective bargaining purposes, our position is unchanged.
“For the troops on the ground it’s time to prepare for a fight. We can do this in a number of ways; the first is the well exercised route of submitting grievances with the employers (RBG and Wood Group) before eventually submitting claims to the Employment Tribunal. This is regrettable as RBG have only just secured the Apache contract and would probably have preferred to start on a positive footing with all the new staff they have inherited!
“Alternatively we could organise a straightforward fight to secure the same terms and conditions as colleagues working on other operator sites. Even at $50 bucks a barrel, the last thing any operator wants is the risk of operations being shut down. But shutting down would be the only option if there was no maintenance support teams or emergency response teams working. Withdrawing labour has serious consequences for operators today and while none of us really wants to take that final step, there are times when no alternative exists. We would be prepared to work with other unions if a dispute was the only avenue open to us, we’d like to think the other unions would support us.”
OILC/RMT believes that resolving the ‘Apache problem’ will not address the bigger issues related to these deals. The OCA mechanisms have broken down irreparably and it is time for a complete overhaul of the system being used for collective bargaining in the UK offshore environment today. Molloy concluded by saying; “We’d like to think we could get the support of the other unions in our call for restructuring. We certainly believe we have the support of offshore workers.”
ENDS.
Notes to Editors;
The Offshore Contractors Association “Partnership Agreement” was signed with the trade unions Unite (Amicus section) and GMB in 2000.
In 2007 OILC/RMT entered into a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the partnership unions (Unite & GMB) providing for 4-weeks holiday entitlement for all OCA employees as of October 1st 2008. In return OILC/RMT agreed to withdraw over 90 legal claims against OCA companies for breach of the Working Time Regulations.
For further comment, contact; Jake Molloy OILC/RMT Regional Organiser on: 01224 210118 or 07711 359705 or email: j.molloy@rmt.org.uk