If the strike is carried out it would affect the Troll A, Jotun A and B.Valhal and Ula fields in the North Sea while the companies that would be affected include Statoil, ExxonMobil Corp, Esso Norge AS, BP Amoco Norge UA, Universal Sodexho and Prosafe Drilling.
The unions are arguing for more holidays for workers on fixed platforms, who currently work on a cycle of two weeks on/three weeks off followed by two weeks on/four weeks off. The unions want the latter all the time.
In Venezuela, white collar workers at the troubled state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), have formally introduced a proposal to the Labour Ministry to create a union.
Around 500 high level managers have signed a petition for the formal creation of the National Union of Oil Workers or Unapetrol. Representatives of the new union said that another 1,500 have already subscribed to the union.
PDVSA employs about 40,000 worker, the majority of which are regular oil workers who are organised in four different unions.
It was labour problems at the oil company which has sparked many months of industrial and political unrest.
