(Reuters) - Wood Group (L:WG) and trade unions Unite and RMT have agreed to suspend strikes announced this Tuesday and restart the process to resolve a dispute over pay cuts and working conditions for Wood Group workers employed on Shell's (L:RDSa) North Sea oil and gas platforms.
The trade unions said they had planned strikes by Wood Group workers on Curlew, Brent Alpha, Brent Braco, Nelson, Gannet, Shearwater, Brent Charlie platforms starting Aug. 15 through Sept. 3.
Hundreds of maintenance workers on North Sea platforms had started a 48-hour strike over a pay dispute but field production or maintenance schedules were not affected, Shell said last Thursday.
As many as 120,000 oil workers are expected to have lost their jobs by the end of this year in an industry-wide clampdown on costs as weak oil prices have reduced profits.