Oil terminal workers in Immingham to strike over “insulting” pay offer

Union members claim that bosses at an oil logistics contractor ‘refuse to satisfy’ staff on pay, so they called for a strike.

Members of the GMB Union who also work at oil logistics firm Briggs Marine will begin their strike action on Friday, October 28 after workers voted overwhelmingly for walkout.

It comes as staff in Immingham, near Grimsby, rejected Briggs Marine’s pay offer, which falls below the current rate of inflation.

The GMB Union also alleges that Briggs Marine has “unlawfully” deducted wages from its members in a separate issue, as a “deliberate attempt to intimidate”.

David Shamma, GMB Regional Organiser, said: “This industrial action was completely avoidable, but Briggs Marine management refuse to satisfy our members on pay.

“The latest offer is well below inflation and is a kick in the teeth for a committed and loyal workforce who carried this company through covid. It’s quite frankly insulting.

“The fact that the company has also unlawfully deducted wages from GMB members pay packets relating to a separate matter is a deliberate attempt to intimidate them from taking part in lawful industrial action and is an absolute disgrace.

“With a cost of living crisis hitting working people in North Lincolnshire hard, it’s time for company top brass to get back around the table with an offer that reflects this.

“Our members are organised and focused on delivering the pay offer they so clearly deserve”.

The age of strike action

Strike action in August from the Communication Workers Union by Lincoln’s Royal Mail delivery office. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite

Industrial action by trade unions has been an ongoing news story this year, as workers continue their fight for fairer pay terms across a multitude of sectors and industries.

We’ve seen the RMT grind train services to a halt, the CWU disrupt BT call centres and Royal Mail post deliveries, the Criminal Bar Association delay court hearings and trial sentencing – and even a worker’s rally through the streets of Lincoln that brought various trade unions together in a collective protest.

This action by the GMB is the latest and surely not the last, as pay disputes continue to dominate headlines across the country during the cost of living crisis – only exaggerated by the rise in inflation.

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