AROUND 110 workers for US oil and gas giant Baker Hughes are starting strike action on Monday August 29 with Unite union accusing the multi-billion-pound company of “laying waste to Scottish jobs”.
Baker Hughes is one of the largest employers in Angus, operating two sites in Montrose at Charleton Road and Forties Industrial Estate on Brent Avenue.
The dispute comes over fire and rehire tactics with Unite saying that the company gave workers at their Angus sites five minutes’ notice before issuing redundancy notices in June.
The company told workers that they have until early August to sign new contracts on less pay or face losing their jobs.
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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.”
The strike action will last until the morning of September 14 which will be followed by a series of 48-hour stoppages taking place until November 16.
Unite members voted for strike action by 87.3% on an 87.5% turnout to defend their jobs, terms and conditions.
The union has estimated that contractual changes could wipe off up to 29% from the annual wages of their workers – the equivalent to a £10,500 drop in annual income.
Unite industrial officer George Ramsay 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.
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“We are determined to fight this corporate bully and our strike action will continue until we win.”
The company employs around 250 workers who pioneer state of the art manufacturing and engineering processes, including industrial 3D printing and virtual reality tools, for the oil and gas industry.
A Baker Hughes spokesman said: "Today, a minority of employees at Baker Hughes’ Montrose site commenced discontinuous strike action in response to propose changes to shift allowances.
"We are disappointed to have reached this stage, having consulted extensively on an outcome which addresses both the business challenges and financial impact on employees.
"We continue to progress an employee-submitted proposal, which retains the 40% shift enhancement pay, and sees employees continue to work more than 80% of their current number of shifts. The majority of our employees have agreed to these new terms and conditions.
"We believe the announcement of strike action was premature: Unite the Union confirmed the proposed action on Monday, August 8 - a full day before the outcome of the consultation was announced. This meant Union members voted for strike action without having all the facts.
"We have deployed a range of contingency and safeguarding measures for our employees and customers. These include measures to ensure employees not taking part in the strike can continue to report for work, and deploying business continuity plans to ensure there will be no impact to customers."
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