North Sea oil platforms are facing the first big strike in decades, as hundreds of workers protest against the cost cutting measures that have been introduced in response to reduced oil prices.

This week, employees of Wood Group (an oilfield services company, across eight platforms operated by Shell) have planned a 24 hour stoppage.

The dispute is being viewed keenly as a test of whether companies will be able to force through further cuts in labour costs in the face of resistance from unions as part of the wider task of keeping oil and gas in the North Sea competitive.

Since oil prices fell from more than $100 a barrel two years ago to a 12 year low of $28 in January this year, leaders of unions say that workers have already made significant sacrifices in this period.

Since January, prices have rebounded back to about $47 a barrel, although this has not been sufficient to lift the darkness that surrounds the North Sea basins.

John Boland, Regional Officer of Unite, which called the strike along with the RMT union, said: “Strike action by our members is not a decision they take lightly but they have been pushed to the limit.”

Industry group Oil & Gas UK believed that by the end of 2016, the number of oil and gas jobs in the UK will fall by 8,000 from its 41,700 peak two years ago. Furthermore, when support jobs are included in this figure, it is expected to have fallen to 330,400 from 453,800, which is a loss of more than 120,000.

The majority of losses have been suffered in the capital of the UK oil industry, Aberdeen, where the amount of people who claim unemployment benefit has more than doubled in the last two years.

Meanwhile, figures also show that the average pay for an offshore worker has decreased to £62,000 from £80,000 in 2014.