Strike over pay dispute on North Sea oil workers’ voting agenda

June 1, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

Multiple offshore workers are poised to cast their votes to determine whether they will embark on industrial action at two platforms in the North Sea on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), which are operated by Neo Next + Energy E&P, created by the merger between TotalEnergies’ UK North Sea upstream oil & gas business and Neo Next.

TotalEnergies - North Sea strike — Alwyn Platform; Courtesy of TotalEnergies

Britain’s Unite the union has confirmed the opening of an industrial action ballot for offshore workers on Neo Next + Energy’s Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms. The ballot, which opened on June 1, closes on July 6.

Sharon Graham, Unite’s General Secretary, commented: “These workers deserve far better than a pitiful pay offer from an oil and gas operator making hundreds of millions in profits. Unite’s offshore members will have our full support in their fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”

The union highlights that TotalEnergies E&P UK reported £70.8 million ($95.35 million) post-tax profits in 2024, after recording £226.2 million ($304.56 million) during the previous year.

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The pay dispute involving approximately 50 Unite members is said to be a result of an unacceptable pay offer of below 3%, which was overwhelmingly rejected by the workers. The list of workers involved in the ballot encompasses control room, production and senior operators, alongside operations and production technicians.

Stevie Davies, Unite’s Industrial Officer, noted: “These are highly skilled workers and low ball pay offers simply don’t cut it. The company need to get back round the table swiftly or our members will have no option but to take action.”

Last year, TotalEnergies negotiated a 2.25% increase in basic pay and a 5% increase in the offshore allowance with Unite, which was backed by around 50 Unite members based on the Elgin-Franklin and North Alwyn platforms.

The Elgin field is located in Block 22/30b and Block 22/30c of the UK North Sea, approximately 200 kilometers east of Aberdeen, in a water depth of 92 meters, while the Franklin and West Franklin satellites are situated 5.5 kilometers south of Elgin in Block 29/5b and Block 29/4d at a similar depth.

The field, which came on stream in 2001, is expected to be operational until 2040. The Alwyn area development comprises eight producing fields: Alwyn North, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant, Nuggets, Forvie North, Jura, and Islay.

The Alwyn North platform in Block 3/9a is the hub and support centre for the fields, supplying them with power and water injection support while simultaneously receiving produced water, oil, and gas via a network of subsea cables and pipelines.

Alwyn North consists of two platforms: North Alwyn Alpha (NAA) and North Alwyn Bravo (NAB), which are linked by a bridge. The Dunbar platform processes fluids from the Dunbar, Grant, and Ellon fields and is tied back to Alwyn by pipeline.