OSLO, June 18 (Reuters) - Wage talks between Norwegian drilling rig owners
and three trade unions reached an agreement overnight, avoiding a strike at four
offshore rigs, the Norwegian Shipowners' Association said on Wednesday.
One of the unions, SAFE, has decided to submit the result of the
negotiations to a vote among its members with an Aug. 1 deadline, the
association representing the employers said.
A proposal put forward by state mediator Svein Longva was accepted by the
negotiators and would give wage earners a wage increase of 8 percent, the
association said.
"Therefore a strike is averted on the four rigs and for the around 650
organised workers that the warning affected," the association said.
The parties to the talks negotiated a deal for more than 6,000 employees on
moveable offshore rigs and drilling personnel on fixed offshore installations,
the association said.
The talks broke down on May 29, after which the state labour mediator was
brought in, it said.
Kjetil Bjoernson, human resources director at drilling company Seadrill
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