NORWAY OIL WORKERS AGREE WAGE DEAL, AVERTING STRIKE

OSLO (Reuters) - Wage talks between Norwegian oil firms and three labour unions ended in a deal on Wednesday, industry and union officials said, averting the risk of strike action later this year that could have hit supply from Europe's largest source of natural gas.

Unions Lederne, Safe and IE&FLT all came to an agreement with the companies, industry group Offshore Norway said.

The new contract raises annual pay for workers by 44,000 Norwegian crowns ($4,021), in addition to some adjustments to overtime pay, the unions said.

"We are pleased to have achieved our demand for a solid financial settlement for offshore workers," IE&FLT deputy chief Lill-Heidi Bakkerud said in a statement.

Norway produces around 4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, almost equally divided between oil and gas. The Nordic country became Europe's top gas supplier after Russia cut its deliveries amid the war in Ukraine.

Offshore Norway said the overall wage deal was in line with agreements reached by employers in other industries.

The agreements cover 7,300 workers at more than a dozen oil companies and suppliers, including Equinor, ConocoPhillips, Aker BP and Vaar Energi.

($1 = 10.9426 Norwegian crowns)

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Sonali Paul)

2024-05-08T05:13:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd