The British Airline Pilots’ Association has called for industrial action following months of unsuccessful negotiation with Bristow Helicopters, giving notice for several strike dates starting from 3 March 2024.
The announcement follows the ballot result of last week’s vote, where members of BALPA returned a 96.31% majority ‘YES’ vote on a 92.74% turnout. As a result, industrial action will be held between 3 – 5 March, 11 – 13 March, 18 – 20 March, and 25 – 27 March.
Speaking about the upcoming strikes, Amy Leversidge, General Secretary, BALPA, said: “Our members in Bristow Helicopters have endured years of pay cuts and freezes and are now saying enough is enough. These pilots and technical crew (winch paramedics and winch operators), operate in some of the most treacherous conditions providing vital search and rescue services and transporting workers to the oil and gas rigs in the North Sea.
“They have remained loyal to Bristow in difficult times, and now the company is booming, and oil and gas is raking in unprecedented profits, it is wholly unreasonable to expect them to remain on austerity pay,” she continued.
“Bristow’s management has failed to listen to employees and offer a decent pay deal. We have repeatedly opened the door for them to come forward with a revised offer, but it just hasn’t come. We strongly urge Bristow to start listening to what their workers are telling them loud and clear – to get back to the bargaining table with BALPA with a fair and reasonable pay offer to prevent further escalation in this dispute,” said Leversidge.
Sources close to Bristow suggest that is not the case, going on to argue that their offer aligned closely with industry norms.
“We are disappointed by BALPA’s decision to move ahead with industrial action, which comes despite our ongoing participation in open and constructive discussions,” said a Bristow spokesperson.
“We have been working closely with our customers, partners and other key stakeholders over several weeks to develop detailed and comprehensive mitigation plans for our Offshore Energy Services and Search and Rescue operations in the event BALPA proceeds with strike action. These plans will ensure our continued response to emergency taskings on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in our life-saving search and rescue function.
“We will not allow any strike action to prevent us responding to urgent calls from people in need alongside our other partners across the UK,” they continued. “We remain committed to the process of talks with the aim of finding a sustainable and fair agreement and avoiding the inevitable disruption caused by strike action.”
Image: Bristow
