Billion dollar US oil and gas giant plans to wipe-off £10,000 from salaries 

Unite the union members working for US oil and gas giant, Baker Hughes, are starting strike action today (29 August) in a dispute over fire and rehire tactics. 

Around 110 workers are taking strike action with Unite accusing the multi-billion pound company of `laying waste to Scottish jobs’.

Unite estimates that detrimental contractual changes could wipe-off up to 29 per cent from the annual wages of Baker Hughes workers. The equivalent to a £10,500 drop in annual income.

Unite members voted for strike action by 87.3 per cent on an 87.5% per cent turnout to defend their jobs, terms and conditions.

The all-out strike action will last until the morning of 14 September with a series of 48-hour stoppages taking place until 16 November (see notes to editor).

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The proposal to cut our members’ pay by over £10,000 through fire and rehire tactics is a new low for an industry plagued by corporate greed. Our members are simply not prepared to accept this and throughout the strike action they will have Unite’s full support in their fight to protect their jobs, pay and conditions.” 

In June, Baker Hughes gave workers at their Angus sites five minutes’ notice before issuing redundancy notices. The company told the workers that they have until early August to sign new contracts on vastly inferior rates of pay or face losing their jobs.

Baker Hughes, one of the largest employers in Angus, operates two sites in Montrose, at Charleton Road and Forties Industrial Estate on Brent Avenue.

The company employs around 250 workers who pioneer state-of-the-art manufacturing and engineering processes, such as industrial 3D printing and virtual reality tools, for the oil and gas industry. 

It has one of the most advanced facilities of its kind after a recent £31m investment. The creation of the subsea centre of excellence in 2019 where the company is based was developed following a £4.9m Scottish Enterprise grant. 

George Ramsay, Unite industrial officer said: “Unite’s members are outraged and they are prepared to take strike action right into the winter to defend their pay.  It is completely unacceptable that our members could lose up to a third of their income during the worst cost of living crisis in a generation. We are determined to fight this corporate bully and our strike action will continue until we win.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Dates of scheduled strike action

Commencing at 06:00 hours on 29th August 2022 and continuing each day up to 12th September 2022 when the action will conclude at 05:59 hours;

 Commencing at 06:00 hours on 12th September 2022 and continuing up to 14th September 2022 when the action will conclude at 05:59 hours;

 A 48 hour stoppage each week commencing at 06:00 hours on the Monday and concluding at 05:59 hours on the Wednesday on the following dates:-

  • 19th September 2022 until 21st September 2022;
  • 26th September 2022 until 28th September 2022;
  • 3rd October 2022 until 5th October 2022;
  • 10th October 2022 until 12th October 2022;
  • 17th October 2022 until 19th October 2022;
  • 24th October 2022 until 26th October 2022;
  • 31st October 2022 until 2nd November 2022;
  • 7th November 2022 until 9th November 2022;
  • 14th November 2022 until 16th November 2022

For media enquiries please contact Andrew Brady on 07810157922.

Email: [email protected]

Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members. The union is led in Scotland by Pat Rafferty.