Negotiations concluded on 19 June in Baku, Azerbaijan, between ICEM affiliate Oil and Gas Industry Workers’ of Azerbaijan (OGWUA) and the Caspian Shipyards Co. Ltd., producing wage gains and health and safety improvements for some 1,000 contract employees.

They work in the construction of offshore rigs for Agip, a subsidiary of Italian energy firm Eni, as well as repairing and upgrading other offshore equipment.

The mostly Azeri workforce staged a wildcat strike on 11 June over disparate pay and unfair working conditions.

The workers at Caspian Shipyards, majority owned by Keppel FELS of Singapore, will now have a legitimate workplace organisation under OGWUA. The negotiations result in a US$78 increase to offset inflation, as well as a 6% wage increase retroactive to 1 June 2008. Minimum salaries have also been increased from a low of $US140-per-week to US$300. Further wage talks will occur annually, beginning in February 2009.

Management at Caspian Shipyards also agreed to continue dialogue on making health and safety improvements, signing long-term contracts, annual paid leave, and reducing the disparity between foreign workers and Azeri workers.

“Our union views the results of these negotiations to resolve the Caspian Shipyards conflict as positive,” said OGWUA Chairman Jahangir Aliyev. “At the same time, we fully realise that not all of the issues have been resolved. However, the work to resolve the social and economic issues will now continue and appropriate monitoring and implementation has been put in place.”