Engineering firm accused of Trump-style tactics

Unite claims US-based Oceaneering is ignoring industrial agreements at Fife base

Unite has accused American engineering giant Oceaneering of adopting “Trump-style” union-busting tactics at its Fife base.

Regional officer Bob Macgregor said the Houston-headquartered company had overstepped the mark by bypassing the union and its collective bargaining agreement and taking a new terms and conditions offer directly to its Rosyth workforce.

He said the move was designed to undermine Unite’s authority at the subsea cable manufacturing facility and followed on from the company cancelling an agreed meeting between the union and management in recent days.

Mr Macgregor said Unite would not hesitate to hold a ballot on industrial action if Oceaneering did not put a halt to efforts to “introduce Donald Trump style industrial relations” and get round the table with the union to resolve the situation.

The union has now published an “indictment” against Oceaneering that comprises of three “charges” against the company.

One of the items alleges that Oceaneering could face individual compensation claims of around £3,800 from each Unite member in its workforce who was approached directly on the terms and conditions issue.

Mr Macgregor said: “We had a meeting agreed and they cancelled that meeting. Instead they went to the workforce with an offer to change their terms and conditions.

“They can maybe do that in America but we are certainly not going to allow them to do that in Scotland.”

Mr Macgregor said the latest issue followed on from a redundancy situation at the site in late October which resulted in 33 jobs being lost.

He said the company had also failed to engage with union representatives at that time.

“We understand there is sometimes the need for redundancy if there is a downturn in the offshore markets that they focus on, but they still have to follow correct process.”

In September 2016, Unite members walked out of the plant after another dispute over payments following a round of redundancies.

The Courier has approached Oceaneering for comment on Unite’s claims but none has been forthcoming.

Bob Macgregor of Unite, above, and Unite members on the picket line during a 2016 dispute with Oceaneering at Rosyth, top.