BY DAVID EYRE
Platform protest – Unite pressure achieved results
some tough meetings – it was agreed to put “the best [deal] we were going to achieve through negotiation”.
The ballot result that could end the dispute was revealed on September 22. Unite members had voted to accept the deal by 105 votes to 82. It was over.
Unite believes the Wood Group dispute achieved much for offshore workers.
First was a big reduction in the levels of cuts to members’ wages, terms and conditions. “No-one is happy with the accepted proposal, and it still means a lot of sacrifice. But we got a better outcome for our members out of very difficult negotiations,” says John.
Second was the recruitment of new members. Before the dispute Unite had
around 110 members across all the affected platforms. Now it has around 260, and they are almost fully unionised. And third is a new generation of shop stewards and reps who have learned from the experience of going through a difficult dispute together.
But perhaps most importantly, the workers who stood united during this dispute have put down a marker for other companies who want to use falling oil prices as an excuse to attack offshore workers.
“I think that’s definitely the case,” comments John. “There’s been a lot of interest in this dispute from other companies. Our members were clear – they weren’t just doing this for themselves, they were doing it for the whole of the sector.
11 uniteWORKS Autumn 2016
Find out more HERE
“The reason we were successful in this dispute was the members and reps – they put in the work. It was because of their organisation and collective force.
“That’s the message to other platforms. They need to be in the union and they need to be organised.”
“
Our members were clear – they weren’t just doing this for themselves, they were doing it for the whole of the sector
John Boland Unite regional officer
”
PA Photos
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36