Posted by John Donovan: 12 July 2024
In a rare turn of events, Shell has managed to pull its head out of the sand long enough to strike a deal with its workers in Alberta, Canada. The Unifor union announced on Wednesday that its members have ratified a new four-year agreement that includes a 16% wage increase. Because who knew that actually paying workers could prevent strikes?
Dodging a Bullet:
The agreement comes after Shell’s Scotford-based facility workers overwhelmingly voted in favor of a work stoppage in late June. It seems the threat of an actual strike was enough to get Shell to the negotiating table. Unifor also mentioned the possibility of further wage gains and improvements to time off for statutory holidays and various union-based leaves. Looks like Shell finally remembered that workers are people too.
Shell’s Lip Service:
“On July 7th Shell reached a tentative agreement with Unifor Local 530-A, which has now been ratified by the union membership,” a Shell spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The spokesperson probably had to Google what a “union” is before drafting that email.
The Scotford Setup:
For those not in the know, the Scotford complex isn’t just any old facility. It houses a bitumen upgrader, oil refinery, chemicals plant, and a carbon capture and storage facility. The upgrader alone has a capacity of 320,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of diluted bitumen. That’s a whole lot of oil, and a whole lot of pollution, neatly wrapped up in one tidy package.
So there you have it. Shell, the oil giant that usually couldn’t care less, has actually agreed to pay its workers more. Let’s see how long this newfound generosity lasts.
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