Hundreds of offshore workers employed by Wood Group on seven Shell-operated platforms in the UK North Sea will go on a second strike next week.

Offshore trade unions, Unite and RMT, have issued a fresh call to Wood Group to drop its cuts to pay and allowances and hold further talks to resolve the dispute ahead of further strike action on Shell platforms planned for next week.

According to these two unions, the cuts, which equate in some cases to a massive 30 per cent drop in pay in allowances, triggered a 24-hour stoppage on Tuesday, July 26, backed by a series of additional three-hour stoppages.

A 48-hour strike is now scheduled for Thursday, August 4, affecting the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Nelson, Gannet, Shearwater and Curlew platforms.

The strike this week saw declarations of support from trade unionists across the globe, including those working in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, and was accompanied by demonstrations at Wood Group locations on shore.

Commenting Unite Regional Officer John Boland, said: “Industrial action is always a last resort and throughout this dispute the trade unions have sought to find a resolution in direct talks with Wood Group and at the conciliation service, Acas.

“However, the solid actions this week and the support that the workers received is a clear demonstration of the strength of feeling and their resolve to resist these attacks on pay and allowances.

“The cuts in take home pay come on top of the imposition of job losses and major changes, such as the potentially unsafe shift to three week blocks of working offshore.

“The workforce is clearly of the view that enough is enough.

“Wood Group needs to move away from constantly attacking the terms and conditions of its workforce and move on to a more positive agenda of working with the unions to overcome the problems affecting the offshore oil industry.

“Wood Group needs to drop the cuts and get back round the table with us if it genuinely wants to avoid further industrial action.”