‘No pay, no way’

A consultative ballot of Unite members working for Hertel, the global industrial services company, on the Conoco Philips oil refinery site on Teesside is on the cards after the company’s zero percentage pay ‘insult’.

The Hertel workers, who provide repair and maintenance services for the global oil giant, Conoco Philips at its Teesside site, are deeply insulted by the company’s offer of no pay rise for 2016/17.

Unite is urging the Hertel and Conoco Philips managements to get around the table with the union to negotiate a fair and equitable pay deal or risk major disruption at the site.

The union is seeking an improved pay offer and has submitted options for a one year deal of three per cent, a two year deal of 3.5 per cent each year and a three year deal of 1.5 per cent in the first year, 2 per cent in the second and 2.5 per cent in the third.

“Hertel’s senior management should be in no doubt that our members will not take this deeply insulting pay slight lying down,” said Unite regional officer Steve Cason. “They work hard in extremely difficult conditions to keep this site operating smoothly. They deserve a fair pay rise that reflects this – not the kick in the teeth currently on offer.

“Blaming the fall in oil prices for the shoddy treatment is simply not acceptable,” he added. “Both Hertel and Conoco Philips are reminded that when oil prices were at record highs, the site’s contractors did not benefit to the same extent as core workers, receiving smaller pay increases and fewer benefits.

“The company needs to get real and start negotiating with the union to reach an equitable pay deal,” Cason went on to say. “If it doesn’t, there could be major disruption at the site. We say ‘no pay, no way’.

“We will be meeting with our members next week to hear their concerns and discuss the campaign going forward. The company is warned that a consultative ballot is on the cards unless, it comes back with a better pay deal.”

A meeting between union officials and Hertel workers will take place on Wednesday, March 16, at the Riverside football stadium in Middlesbrough to discuss members concerns and the pay campaign going forward.