Construction workers building a gas plant on Shetland last night postponed strike action due to take place today after requesting time to reconsider an offer on the table.
Shop stewards approached the main contractor Petrofac yesterday to ask if an offer made on Tuesday was still valid.
Union leaders said only half of the affected 700 workers had voted in favour of two 24-hour strikes in a dispute over shared accommodation and travel times.
Yesterday, a meeting of more than 300 union members voted by a majority to ballot the rest of the workforce on Petrofac’s offer of £5,500 compensation.
The move comes after a similar meeting on Tuesday unanimously rejected the overture, despite union leaders recommending it be accepted.
Workers had planned picket lines in Lerwick, where Petrofac has three accommodation barges for workers, as well as at the site at Sullom Voe in Shetland’s north mainland.
The long-running dispute centres on workers having to share rooms in an 850-bed accommodation block near the site where French oil giant Total is developing the £800million gas plant.
Both Unite the union and GMB have been campaigning for extra pay for men having to share rooms at the block, Sella Ness, and for the long travel time from the flotels.
Unite regional industrial organiser John Taylor said: “The workforce has agreed that it’s only fair that everyone gets a say in the matter, so they have agreed to postpone industrial action.
“There was still an amount of people who wanted to carry on with industrial action – but a majority decided it was only fair for everyone to get an opportunity to vote.”
Unite and GMB will now ballot their members over the next 12 days to make a final decision on the company’s offer.
Petrofac, which has chartered the 193-bed cruiseliner Ocean Endeavour for six months to ease the accommodation problem, said it was pleased by the “apparent change of heart” regarding the offer.
A spokesman said: “Despite the fact that accommodation sharing has always been part of the employment deal, we put together a generous offer that was accepted by union officials and shop stewards that would have meant workers being eligible for up to an extra £5,500 on top of their salaries – so we hope that the membership will accept it this time.
“If we can reach agreement this final time, we are happy to go forward on a ‘clean slate’ basis.
“If the offer is not accepted this time, then it will be off the table permanently and we will have to look at other ways of addressing the root causes of the problem – room sharing and travel time.”