More Workers Walk Out of Norway's Oil Wage Talks
More workers in Norway's oil sector walked out of wage talks on Wednesday, sending the dispute to a state mediator and raising the prospect of a repeat of a 2012 strike. Workers who operate onshore supply bases broke off talks, joining platform oil workers and oil service employees in breaking off wage negotiations, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the energy companies' interest group, and trade union Industri Energi said. "This was the third wage negotiation this year and the third one that is going to mediation," Jan Hodneland, the chief negotiator for oil firms said. The association said unions had made unreasonable pay demands for work on holidays and outside regular business hours.
Move Cautiously in Far North Says Safety Agency
Working in the Barents Sea must be as safe as elsewhere Norway's Petroleum Safety Agency (PSA) makes clear. The petroleum sector faces special challenges as it moves northwards, and the question is whether emergency preparedness, knowledge and technology are sufficient to meet them. Activities in the Barents Sea are characterised by great distances to land, lack of infrastructure, long dark winters and a tough climate with low temperatures. Finn Carlsen, a director of supervision at the PSA, adds that operators will once again have to pursue their work in close proximity to rich fishing grounds. He emphasises that stopping oil spills from happening at all represents the most important contribution to protecting the environment in the far north.
