In a statement sent to Rigzone by the Unite team on Friday, the union announced that offshore workers employed by TotalEnergies are being balloted for strike action.
Unite noted in the statement that around 50 Unite members based on the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms “are involved in an escalating dispute after the overwhelming rejection of an unacceptable pay offer”.
“The dispute centers on the pay claim for 2025 which should take effect from 1 January. TotalEnergies originally offered a 1.5 per cent basic salary increase, which after being overwhelmingly rejected by the workers, was minimally increased to 1.75 per cent,” Unite said in the statement.
“The latest offer which also amounts to a real terms pay cut was similarly rejected,” it added.
Unite revealed in the statement that the ballot covering the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms opens today and closes on June 2. The union said its members undertake a number of roles on TotalEnergies platforms, “including skilled engineers, control room and senior operators, along with mechanical, operation, and production technicians”.
In the statement, Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said, “TotalEnergies has posted multi billion pound profits year after year, yet it is trying to impose a real terms pay cut”.
“Unite will back our members all the way in the fight for better jobs, pay, and conditions,” Graham added.
Unite Industrial Officer John Boland said in the statement, “Unite’s members employed by TotalEnergies across the Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms are being forced to ballot on strike action to get a fair pay award from a multi billion company”.
“TotalEnergies … should be under no illusions that if our members take strike action it will cause major disruption to the operations on both platforms,” he added.
Rigzone has contacted TotalEnergies for comment on Unite’s statement. At the time of writing, the company has not responded to Rigzone.
On its site, TotalEnergies states that it is one of the largest operators in the UK Continental Shelf and highlights that it operates around 27 percent of the UK Continental Shelf’s gas production. The company’s UK Continental Shelf production averaged 121,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year, TotalEnergies’ site outlines.
“We have a strong portfolio of assets located offshore in three major zones of the North Sea – the Alwyn/Dunbar area in the Northern North Sea, the Elgin/Franklin and Culzean areas in the Central North Sea, and the Laggan-Tormore hub in the West of Shetland area,” TotalEnergies notes on its site.
TotalEnergies has been present in the UK for more than 60 years, according to its site, which states that, in that time, it’s grown into one of the largest multi energy companies in the world. It now has more than 100,000 employees in around 120 countries, the company’s site points out.
In addition to exploration and production, TotalEnergies is present in several other UK energy sectors, TotalEnergies’ site shows.
TotalEnergies Gas & Power is a major B2B energy supplier, the site notes, adding that it provides UK customers with gas, power, renewable energy, and carbon offsetting options. TotalEnergies has also invested in several offshore wind developments in the UK, is “the only major energy company still manufacturing lubricants in the UK”, is regularly expanding its service station network in the country, and operates the “largest public electric vehicle charging network in London”, its site highlights.
Unite describes itself as the UK and Ireland’s leading union fighting to protect and advance jobs, pay, and conditions for members working across all sectors of the economy.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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