Oil and gas giant Shell is preparing for strike action across seven of its platforms in the North Sea as part of the largest UK oilfields industrial dispute for ten years. Earlier in the week, workers at Wood Group, the company which provides Shell with maintenance services, voted in favour of strike action in protest at the changes to working conditions and pay. The dispute is a reflection of the increasing tensions in North Sea industrial relations as businesses struggle to keep the basin competitive in the face of low oil prices, high costs and declining production. Shell says that it is not expecting disruption to hit immediately and has put contingency plans in place to make sure that essential maintenance would carry on as normal if the strike goes ahead as planned. Shell has been accused of recruiting “scab labour” by trade unions after advertisements were posted to a job agency website which offered maintenance work on week by week contracts. RMT and Unite union leaders said that their members had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action. Head of Shell’s upstream business in the UK and Ireland, Paul Goodfellow, said that he was disappointed with the outcome of the vote and was hopeful that the Wood Group and its employees would be able to resolves their issues without the need for a walkout. Goodfellow commented: “Our priority is to ensure that the safety of our people and assets will not be compromised during any industrial action.” Meanwhile, Head of Wood Group’s Eastern Region, Dave Stewart, said that the company was hopeful of reaching an agreement with the unions that “meets our mutual goal of safeguarding these jobs in the North Sea now and in the future.” On average, Wood Group employees are facing a basic salary reduction of 3%.

The UK’s roads watchdog has warned Highways England that it must change its planning processes if it is to be successful in delivering its £15 billion Road Investment Strategy. If the agency is to meet its delivery targets for the rest of the programme, the Office of Road and Rail said that the agency would require a more “robust internal planning process.” The comments came in the ORR’s first yearly review of the performance of Highways England which stated that the agency has made a “good start” to RIS by spending in line with the agreed funding and meeting all of its performance targets. However, there were concerns raised over the ability of Highways England to deal with “future risks” including skills shortages as workloads increased. In 2015/16, Highways England spent just more than £1.7 billion on renewals and enhancements, which will rise to £2.2 billion the following year and £3 billion in 2020. Joanna Whittington, Chief Executive of ORR, warned that most of its delivery targets had been set for the latter stages of its five year funding period and the agency required “more work to do to demonstrate how it will ensure delivery of its capital investment plan.” Whittington added: “The company needs to be clear about how it will manage some specific risks, such as those associated with the availability of skilled workforce and capacity of the supply chain to deliver.” The report also stated that the sector’s “strongest capacity constraint” was its ability to attract people with the appropriate skill set. Earlier in the week it was revealed that Highways England was to replace the current Collaborative Delivery Framework with a £7 billion framework. As part of its plans, Jim O’Sullivan, Chief Executive, outlined plans for a “route to market” initiative that would consult suppliers on how the framework should be shaped moving forward.