17 members win court case against Trinity Nordic

Negotiator Fraser Knox of Industri Energi.
Negotiator Fraser Knox of Industri Energi.

torsdag 26. oktober 2017

Stavanger District Court ruled in favour of Industri Energi on all 17 points of its case against Trinity Nordic. The case concerned the right to an extended notice period.

«Given that we are a union, this is a principle victory. We believe it important that employers stick to the law. But this is also an important ruling that sends a signal to other companies that they need to put their house in order,» says Negotiator Fraser Knox of Industri Energi.

Industri Energi went to court on the right to an extended notice period for employees of the Trinity Nordic catering company working on the Stena Don drilling rig. Notice was given after the contract between Statoil and Stena Drilling was cancelled in October 2016.

Ruling implies higher payment

The ruling implies that members will receive between 6 491 and 164 000 Norwegian kroner (NOK). Those with the longest seniority will receive the most.

«I have already been in contact with several of our members and received good feedback. Some of them have worked for the company for 20 years, and felt badly treated,» states Knox.

The ruling also affected two members of the SAFE union. They did not pursue the case themselves, but reached an agreement with their employer that the ruling in the case against Industri Energi will also apply to their members.

Not known whether they will appeal or not

The same owner has traded via several companies and therefore claimed that the employees had not been employed long enough with any one company to qualify for an extended notice period.

«We’ve had problems with this company before, and kept a careful eye on them when they returned to the Norwegian oil industry in November 2010. I see the ruling as confirmation that it was important to bring this case on behalf of our members,» comments Knox.

The case was brought before the District Court in Stavanger between 4 and 6 October, with LO lawyer Kristin Bomo as counsel for the union. Trinity was also ordered to pay costs.

The ruling is not yet in force, and Industri Energi is not aware whether the defendant will appeal.