More than 1,200 workers are believed to have taken part in the latest strike among North Sea oil and gas workers but one stood alone.
Bilfinger employee and Unite the Union member Alex Charlesworth was the only one downing tools on the Fulmar platform, about 217 miles east of Dundee.
For everyone else on the installation it was business as usual.
Mr Charlesworth said he understands why some of his colleagues on the Repsol Sinopec Resources UK asset may have decided against industrial action.
He explained it was “their choice” not to strike”, adding: “I did what was right for me – that’s all a person can do.”
And he said there was “no tension” between him and those who chose not to strike.
Mr Charlesworth was one of seven Bilfinger employees on Fulmar.
Workers employed across the UK North Sea by Bilfinger, Wood, Petrofac, Stork and Sparrows downed tools last week in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions.
More strikes are expected, with Unite planning to announce more dates soon.
‘Underpaid and undervalued’
Mr Charlesworth said: “I chose to strike as I know a lot of my other workmates will be doing the same on other platforms.
“We are all in this together to get better rates of pay. Everyone across the board feels really underpaid and undervalued.”
And responding to a Facebook post from Unite that commended him for his actions, Mr Charlesworth said: “Thanks for that but don’t need praised he was “just doing what needs to be done to make life better out here”.
The latest round of strikes ended last Thursday.
Unite’s Bilfinger representative said workers at the firm had not received any new pay offers since they started their 48 hours of industrial action.
Strikes a hot topic at All-Energy
A Bilfinger spokesman said: “We respect all workers’ rights and individual choice to engage in legally organised industrial action.”
Repsol Sinopec said it continually reviewed the remuneration of its offshore workforce and supported “fair compensation aligned with the market”.
The offshore strikes were a hot topic at the All Energy conference in Glasgow last week.
First Minister Humza Yousaf called on all sides to find a resolution, while also saluting the “phenomenal contribution” offshore oil and gas workers have made to Scotland over the years.
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