AGENTApache offshore workers back strike action in Forties pay dispute
More than 160 workers at seven Apache assets have backed industrial action. Unite warns of knock-on risks to the Forties pipeline; Apache says contingency plans should keep other producers flowing.
- More than 160 Apache offshore workers have backed industrial action in a pay dispute.
- The ballot covered workers on seven assets linked to the Forties and Beryl fields.
- Unite warns a stoppage at Forties Charlie could threaten the wider pipeline system.
- Apache says it plans to keep experienced staff at Charlie and expects other producers to continue using the system.
The vote puts pressure on Apache to resolve the pay dispute, but does not mean a strike has started. Unite said the ballot covered technicians and radio operators across seven assets. Its September notice said the ballot would close on 1 October and that action could begin by mid-October.1 On 5 October, the union announced that more than 160 workers had backed action.2
The published reports do not give the exact vote count, turnout or share voting in favour, and they do not set out confirmed strike dates. The mid-October timing was Unite’s earlier forecast, not a published schedule.
The dispute is over pay and back pay. Unite says Apache’s offer would mean a real-terms cut for many workers, through freezes or below-inflation rises, and says the company set deadlines that could leave some staff without back pay. Apache told the Press and Journal its final offer was fair and included a 4% rise, in line with the increase for non-unionised staff.13
The potential pipeline impact is contested. Unite says disruption at Forties Charlie could reduce pressure enough to threaten the wider Forties Pipeline System, operated by Ineos. The union says the system handles about 29% of UK oil and 30% of UK gas; those are the union’s figures, not a measure of how much supply a strike would interrupt.24
Apache gave the Press and Journal a different assessment. It said its contingency plans included keeping experienced personnel at Charlie, even if production from its five Forties platforms were suspended. The company said any resulting pressure reduction would be comparable to routine maintenance and it did not expect other producers’ use of the system to be affected.3
That leaves two sharply different forecasts: Unite warns of wider disruption, while Apache says its staffing plans should limit knock-on effects. Neither forecast establishes that the pipeline will be disrupted or that fuel supplies will be affected.