Shell's US union talks falter as prospect of further refinery strikes looms

The United Steelworkers union (USW), which represents workers at 65 US refineries, called a work stoppage at nine oil plants on Sunday after Shell "refused to provide us with a counter-offer and left the bargaining table”, said USW International president Leo Gerard.

Gerard told Reuters on Wednesday he was "very, very shocked" about the company's decision to cut off talks. “This industry is the richest in the world and can afford to make the changes we offered in bargaining.

“The problem is that oil companies are too greedy to make a positive change in the workplace and they continue to value production and profit over health and safety, workers and the community," said USW vice president of administration Tom Conway.

With companies claiming profits eroded by the falling oil price mean they cannot afford to lift wages, Shell is the lead company for the national oil bargaining talks and has offered five different offers to the union, but USW rejected them all.

Meanwhile, the union has said further walkouts may be ordered at some of the other 63 refineries and chemical plants it represents if progress is not made.

IndustriALL Global Union, which represent 50m workers in mining, energy and manufacturing, issued a statement on Tuesday it was "outraged at the behavior of the employers' lead negotiator, Shell, which has made a series of derisory offers and then left the bargaining table as the past agreement ran out, refusing to provide the union with a counter offer and leaving the union with the only option of giving notice of a work stoppage".

In a letter of support to USW, IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina said: "We share your union`s conviction that this stoppage is about fundamental issues of safety and health to the workforce and local communities and we demand that Shell return to the bargaining table and reach a fair and equitable agreement. This would benefit both workers and the industry."