Strike threat as 80 jobs set to be axed at Shetland oil terminal
Union bosses have expressed shock and dismay over the planned axing of around 80 workers at the Sullom Voe oil terminal in Shetland.
Unite Scotland has pledged to “explore every option”, including strikes, in order to save jobs at the plant.
The redundancies are part of a cost-cutting exercise and will affect around 60 full-time staff and 20 contractors.
Sullom Voe, which was officially opened by the Queen in 1981, is one of the largest oil terminals in Europe.
In the late-1990s, at the height of the North Sea oil boom, it handled more than a quarter of all UK petroleum production and employed around 500 people.
But the plant is facing an uncertain future, as petroleum giant BP considers transporting gas by tanker directly to mainland or continental destinations instead of by pipeline to Sullom Voe.
Now operator Enquest, which has been running the site since it took over from BP in 2017, has announced plans to cut the workforce and alter employment contracts in a bid to make the business more cost-effective.
In a statement, Enquest said it was “committed to maximising the economic life of the terminal as a strategic piece of North Sea infrastructure”.
The statement said: “These changes are essential if we are to make the terminal competitive to retain and win new business, to deliver the required level of service to our customers and to help maximise economic recovery in the UK Continental Shelf.”
The firm has said it is offering a voluntary redund ancy process in the hope of avoiding compulsory job losses.
John Clark, Unite regional industrial officer, said the cuts had sparked “utter dismay and bemusement” and had “taken everyone by surprise”.
He said: “Unite will not stand idly by and allow jobs to be sacrificed to facilitate a competitive edge for other projects. We will explore every option, including balloting our members for industrial action.”
Lewis Macdonald, energy spokesman for Scottish Labour, said: “This is yet another example of big business pocketing profits from natural resources whilst local people lose out.”
He said companies making money from natural resources around Shetland had a duty to ensure local people share in their success. ”
Libdem MP for Orkney and Shetland Alistair Carmichael said the news was “disappointing” b ut not unexpected.
He added: “The unions and the company must now work together in the best interests of the workers, their families and the community more widely.”