Offshore workers employed by Bilfinger are set to take eight days of industrial action at two North Sea facilities operated by Ithaca Energy amid a dispute over a retention bonus.
Unite the union said around 20 members on the Alba floating storage unit (FSU) and the FPF-1 floating production facility (FPF) will join the stoppage. The group includes scaffolders, engineers, deck workers, and rope access personnel.
The action is scheduled to begin on the Alba FSU from 4 June to 7 June 2026. A second four-day strike will follow on FPF-1 from 9 June to 12 June 2026.
Unite said the dispute relates to the exclusion of Bilfinger employees from a retention bonus scheme. According to the union, workers from other companies on the same assets have received the payment.
The union had previously delayed industrial action to allow talks with Bilfinger. It said those discussions brought limited progress on the bonus issue.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said Ithaca Energy and Bilfinger had the financial capacity to make the payment. Unite also pointed to Ithaca Energy’s February 2026 trading update, which showed profit before tax of $2 billion, compared with $1.4 billion in 2024. Bilfinger UK reported profits of £17.7 million ($23.8 million) in 2024, up from £14 million ($18.8 million) in 2023.
Paula Buchan, Unite Industrial Officer, said the union had sought to bring Ithaca Energy and Bilfinger into talks to resolve the dispute. She said strikes on Alba FSU and FPF-1 could have a significant effect on daily operations and warned that the action could be escalated if no resolution is reached.
The announcement follows Unite’s separate industrial action ballot for offshore workers on Neo Next + Energy’s Elgin Franklin and North Alwyn platforms.
