The statement comes in response to Bilfinger Salamis’s decision to remove themselves from the Offshore Contractors Partnership Agreement (OCPA) in June this year. The organisation came under fire from workers this month who accused the organisation of imposing Dickensian style contracts and an agency like approach to daily business.

Bilfinger’s actions seen offshore unions proposition the organisation for a meeting to discuss “voluntary” trade union recognition for the workforce – A move that one worker viewed as the first step to a brighter future.

Although unions will not be able to reverse the contract changes employees have allegedly been made to sign, they will be able to provide workers with a voice to have input to and affect change on any future proposals. At present Bilfinger Salamis are able to dictate contract conditions without employee involvement or negotiation.

Bilfinger have been accused of forcing employees to sign the new contracts or face losing their job – a claim the organisation viciously denies.

One worker went on to add: “We’ve been kicked about something rotten since June with Bilfinger Salamis threatening to fire members of staff who oppose or hesitate in signing amended contracts”

“Bilfinger imposed a company reps council upon leaving the OCPA and denied the workforce the choice of union recognition which we believe is a denial of our human rights.”

Another Bilfinger Salamis employee told Oil and Gas People:

“The industry wants greater collaborative working across the board and here we have the unions offering employers an opportunity and they are choosing to ignore it. This does not send the correct message to the offshore community nor does it portray Bilfinger in a responsible manner.”

With the North Sea being one the worst hit areas of the oil industry due to the on-going oil price crash and with Bilfinger posting significant losses throughout 2016, it’s understandable that the organisation needs to reduce costs and minimise overheads to return itself to profit.

However the steps that Bilfinger have taken since leaving OCPA have been implemented to the detriment of its workers with one section of its revised contract stating:

“For the avoidance of doubt, the Employer reserves in its sole discretion, the right to change work/field break cycles for the Assignment, either permanently or temporarily, as and when operational, client or other business considerations require or dictate. This includes, without prejudice to the foregoing generality, a right to increase or reduce the length of the time spent working offshore, to impose an unequal work/field break cycle, or to impose an equal time work/field break cycle and to vary the amount of field break accruing for time spent working offshore. Any such variation will be intimated to the Employee with as much notice as is reasonable practical”

The decision to impose such contract conditions is a questionable standard to set. The oil and gas industry has been admired for leading the way in working standards, job security and pay levels for decades. And with entire study panels concluding that workers benefit mentally from set rotations and durations it is both disappointing and worrying to see one organisation taking a step away from industry recognised working practices. It is very much hoped that this is not the start of a new contract style to be adopted throughout the weakened Oil and Gas Industry as a whole.

Bilfinger Salamis released the following statement: “Since announcing our withdrawal from the OCA in December 2015, we have been in continual dialogue with the unions and will remain so through our employee representative committee. Both Unite and GMB have seats on this committee alongside the offshore workers that have volunteered to take part, with more joining since it was founded in May. We are proud of this initiative which enables closer engagement with both our workforce and the unions than was possible within the OCA.

“We have issued new rebranded contracts to all of our employees this month as part of our exit from the OCA.  The basic rates of pay are unchanged. We have proposed that standby and guaranteed payments revert to the previous December 2015 OCA agreed payment of 8 hours at half rig-rate. This will help us to safeguard the long-term future of our employees in the face of the unprecedented, challenging trading conditions in the North Sea.”