More talk, less walk out
5 Feb 2009
The background to the dispute at the Lindsey oil refinery (see news story) is the global economic downturn, which has moved the industry from severe skills shortages to a situation where labour supply – at least in some respects – has moved well into surplus. However, situation also raises continuing questions about the ability of the UK engineering sector to deliver projects to schedule.
Last year, for instance, engineering firm CB&I was hit by costs of over $300 million to bring in extra subcontractors on two LNG projects in the UK. The company and its original subcontractors had been unable to source enough suitably skilled workers to complete the projects at the Isle of Grain and Milford Haven to deadline.
By the start of this year, when Jacobs/IREM started to bring in 300 foreign workers on a project to build a new HDS unit at the Total facility, project work had apparently started to dry up for many UK contract workers. However, the unofficial strike at the Lindsey refinery highlights some wider issues, which should be closely studied and addressed if such problems are not to reemerge.
According to some union sources, the dispute was triggered by a decision by Jacobs Engineering to move work from one subcontractor to Italian firm IREM, towards the end of last year. This, they claim, meant that one firm’s UK-based workforce saw much of its work withdrawn and given to 300 Italian workers, who had not even been mobilised.
Union officials say the way the subcontract work was awarded showed that employers are excluding UK workers from even applying for work on these contracts and that current EU law gives too much scope for employers to undercut wages and conditions.
Unite joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, said: “The flexible labour market is a one way street that only benefits the employers. We have seen the backlash as the recession bites. The government must act to level the playing field for UK workers.”
However, Total insists that it mainly employs local labour at the Lindsey refinery: backing this up with figures for 2008 showing that 96% of the 267 contract companies working at the refinery were UK or UK-registered companies.
Indeed, Total has stated that “it has never been, and never will be, the policy of Total to discriminate against British companies or British workers … We have a fair, competitive and rigorous tender process. We will continue to put contracts out to tender in the future and we are confident we will award further contracts to UK companies.”
With the employment situation likely to deteriorate further, it seems that those seeking to avoid further walkouts must address these huge differences between employer and worker.
Greater transparency and better dialogue seem the way forward towards an understanding of how, where, when and why foreign workers are an essential resource for projects at major UK process sites.
Send your views to: patrick.raleigh@centaur.co.uk
