BARRY ROCHE,
Southern Correspondent
WORKERS AT the Conoco Phillips oil storage facility on Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay are to begin a 48-hour work stoppage tomorrow in protest at the lack of pay parity with colleagues working at the National Oil Refinery Authority plant in Whitegate.
The 18 workers are members of Siptu. According to branch organiser Eddie Mullins, they are being paid between 12 and 15 per cent less than colleagues working at the Whitegate facility, which is also owned by Conoco Phillips.
"We made an agreement with management in 2004, which operated well for the first two years but which has been systematically reinterpreted by a new management team since 2006 in ways that adversely affect our members," Mr Mullins said.
He added that the 18 Siptu workers at the Whiddy terminal were particularly affected in terms of the time off they got in lieu of days they worked to fill gaps in shift work rosters or when they worked unsocial hours such as night shifts.
"The company failed to engage when we referred the issues to the Labour Relations Commission and only agreed to attend the Labour Court after we had a 24-hour stoppage."
He said that while the company could argue that it was "within the letter of the 2004 agreement", it was not abiding by its spirit.
A spokesman for Conoco Phillips could not be contacted.