Bilfinger Employees Help Strike Motion

(Replace) December 5, 2025, 10:58 AM GMT: Article up to date with Unite spokesperson remark.

UK union Unite introduced, in a press release despatched to Rigzone this week, that over 400 offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK Restricted “have supported taking strike motion in an escalating dispute over pensions”.

A Unite spokesperson declined to verify actual numbers in relation to a vote on industrial motion amongst offshore members employed by Bilfinger UK. The spokesperson informed Rigzone, nevertheless, that Unite has “a majority of members voting in favor of motion and that … means over 400 at the moment are mandated to be supportive of the strike motion”.

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Within the assertion, Unite mentioned “a majority of Bilfinger employees have emphatically backed strike motion in a struggle to safe a fairer pension deal”.

“Unite members are demanding that Bilfinger transfer to a gross earnings pension scheme like many different personal sector and offshore corporations as a result of employees are shedding out on hundreds of kilos in pension contributions as a consequence of their sample of pay being weekly,” Unite added.

Unite famous within the assertion that almost all of Bilfinger employees are enrolled in a statutory minimal office pension scheme “the place the corporate pays a most three p.c of ‘qualifying earnings’ contribution”.

“The qualifying earnings earnings is between GBP 6,240 [$8,322] and GBP 50,270 [$67,060]. Something above or under that doesn’t think about pension contributions. It means Bilfinger’s annual pension contribution is capped at GBP 1,320.90 [$1,762.10] per yr no matter earnings,” Unite mentioned.

The union estimated within the assertion that round GBP 2,254 [$3,006] is being misplaced yearly in employer pension contributions compared with a gross wage pension scheme for a employee incomes GBP 59,580.36 [$79,486.58].

“If Bilfinger fails to behave on the pensions difficulty then strikes shall be known as within the coming weeks”, Unite warned within the assertion, which highlighted that “numerous oil and gasoline operators are set to be hit by any industrial motion involving Bilfinger offshore members together with BP, CNR, Ineos, Ithaca, and TAQA”.

In response to the assertion, the next property could be impacted by industrial motion:

“Bilfinger is disadvantaging tons of of Unite members by paying decrease pension contributions to employees based mostly merely on how they’re paid,” Unite Basic Secretary Sharon Graham mentioned within the assertion.

“Unite members are shedding out on hundreds of kilos yearly in firm pension contributions in contrast with different employees, which is totally unacceptable. We are going to again our Bilfinger members each step of the way in which of their struggle to safe a simply and truthful pension settlement,” Graham added.

Unite Industrial Officer Paula Buchan mentioned within the assertion, “Unite’s Bilfinger membership are decided to safe a good pension deal”.

“Lots of of employees who do equally extremely expert and skilled work within the offshore sector are being handled unfairly compared with different colleagues employed by the corporate who’re paid on a wage foundation,” he added.

“Dozens of offshore installations will now be hit by widespread disruption as a consequence of employees being handled in an unacceptable and unfair manner. The blame for that strike motion lies squarely on the door of Bilfinger HQ,” he continued.

Rigzone contacted Bilfinger, BP, CNR, INEOS, Ithaca, and TAQA for touch upon Unite’s assertion.

In response, Bilfinger UK informed Rigzone, “Bilfinger UK absolutely complies with all statutory pension obligations and we frequently overview our pay and advantages packages to make sure they continue to be aggressive”.

“We acknowledge that 212 of the Unite members participated within the poll and we are going to proceed to interact with the unions, our shoppers, and our colleagues to hunt a constructive decision,” the corporate added.

“Operational security stays our prime precedence and we have now procedures in place to attenuate any potential disruption,” Bilfinger UK continued.

Ineos declined to remark. BP, CNR, Ithaca, and TAQA haven’t responded to Rigzone on the time of writing.

The Clair subject is the most important oilfield on the UK Continental Shelf, in response to BP’s web site, which states manufacturing from the sphere started in 2005 via the Clair Part One platform. This was the primary mounted platform west of Shetland, BP’s web site highlights.

Clair Ridge is the second part of growth, BP’s web site states, including that ”the bridge-linked platforms, which delivered first oil in November 2018, are designed to get better an estimated 640 million barrels of oil”.

To contact the creator, e-mail andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com