"Norway oil, gas workers widen drilling rig strike"

From Reuters:

Some 900 Norwegian offshore oil and gas workers went on strike on Monday, joining almost 700 who walked off the job last week, in an escalating dispute over pay and pensions that has hit production.

The Safe union said it would consider in the next few days whether to widen the strike to all its 2,250 members.

Safe went ahead with its plan to expand the strike that began last Tuesday after employers did not respond to its demands for higher wages and pension benefits by a midnight (2200 GMT) Sunday deadline.

It is the biggest strike in the sector since a 16-day industrial action in 2012 cut Norway’s output of crude by about 13 percent and its natural gas production by about 4 percent.

Reidun Ravndal, a member of Safe's strike committee, said 900 additional workers were joining the strike on Monday, although it would take some time for the strike to become fully effective because they have to follow safe shutdown procedures....MUCH MORE