205 on-shore oil and gas service workers begin strike over pay and sick-pay demands

At 6 a.m. on Friday, 205 employees providing accommodation, catering and cleaning services for on-shore oil and gas operations walked out. The staff are represented by the trade union Fellesforbundet, which together with employer group NHO Service og Handel could not finalize a new landforpleiningsavtale after an overnight mediation session. Mediator Arild Dommersnes said the parties were too far apart to produce a mutually acceptable proposal.

Gard Hofsvang, the union’s chief negotiator, stated that members expect a genuine wage rise and an advance on sick-pay so that low-paid workers are not financially burdened by prolonged illness. Without these improvements, the union sees no alternative but to strike. The action involves organized employees in five unnamed firms that operate canteens and lodging for oil-and-gas workers on land.