Ithaca operated Alba FSU and FPF1 assets set for disruption

Unite workers employed by Bilfinger on North Sea assets operated by Ithaca Energy will strike in a dispute over jobs, pay, and conditions. 

Around 20 workers are involved in a dispute over the refusal by Ithaca Energy to extend a retention bonus worth up to £14,500 to Bilfinger workers on the Alba Floating Storage Unit (FSU) and its floating production facility (FPF)1.  

Unite members involved in the ballot unanimously voted for industrial action with a series of 24-hour stoppages set to take place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 May.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has been met with total obstinacy from Bilfinger and Ithaca Energy. Both companies are very wealthy, and they can easily afford to pay this bonus. Our members have been left with no option but to take strike action to fight for what they deserve.” 

Ithaca Energy has excluded the Bilfinger employees who include scaffolders, engineers, deck, and rope access workers from the bonus scheme with workers of other companies on the same assets in receipt of the bonus payment. 

Ithaca Energy provided a trading update in February 2026 which highlighted $2.0 billion profit before tax up from $1.4 billion in 2024, while Bilfinger UK Limited further posted profits of £17.7m in 2024 up from £14m in 2023.

Unite industrial officer Paula Buchan said: “The Bilfinger workers are being denied a payment which other companies are paying. It is ultimately Ithaca Energy which is a multi-billon pounds business who hold the purse strings but Bilfinger is also a profitable company.

“We have tried to resolve this dispute through negotiations, but both companies are refusing to give our members the same retention bonus which is unacceptable. A series of stoppages will now take place in May which will have a significant impact on the day to day operations of these assets.”

ENDS 

Notes to Editors

 

For media enquiries contact: Andrew Brady on 07810 157922 or andrew.brady@unitetheunion.org

  

Unite Scotland is the country’s biggest and most diverse trade union with around 150,000 members.