Offer in Offshore Contractors Association pay dispute accepted by Unite

A fresh offer made in an effort to end a long-running pay dispute involving offshore workers has been accepted.

Negotiations have been ongoing between unions and the Offshore Contractors Association (OCA) for a year.

Previous offers had been rejected, and members of Unite voted last November to take industrial action.

Unite said its 2,500 members covered by the OCA had now accepted the revised pay offer. The OCA welcomed the news of the settlement.

Unite regional industrial officer John Boland said: "After a long process, Unite members have accepted the revised pay offer by the OCA.

"The two-year pay deal represents a significant improvement on the initial OCA offer."

Paul Atkinson, the OCA's chief executive said: "We are very pleased that members of Unite and the RMT have voted to accept our offer.

"It follows a period in which the OCA has worked extremely hard with our members, their operator clients, trade union colleagues and workforce representatives to develop a proposal that will bring pay certainty through until the end of 2020".