CHC UK redundancies/strike action/FSP
Join Date: Dec 2002
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I believe management are going have every weekend off - oh and public holidays and have some leave when they want it. No working Xmas or New Year and definately not in the office at 0600 or past 1730
332M
332M
Join Date: Jan 2005
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TorqueStripe, thanks for your support.
Taking care of those red, white and blue birds is much more fun, but at the moment we have no other option left; they p.....d us of so badly!
Taking care of those red, white and blue birds is much more fun, but at the moment we have no other option left; they p.....d us of so badly!
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: North of Amsterdam
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Very sad day because the company states that it is suffering of a severe deteriorization in the oil and gas industry, compelling them to cease any and all cost increases.The reality is different. The American investment company "First Reserve"owner of the Canadian Helicopter Company since end 2008, is performing a sordid cash improvement programme.There is a crisis manager appointed and is under instructions to cut European flight operations by 20 million pounds.Cutbacks should lead to a higher return on investment for First Reserve.The exellent result of the Dutch operations and local circumstances are by and large ignored. In a time when bonuses have to be repaid and companies are reliant on goverment support to stay in business, First Reserve merrily continues its profit maximization, this is a flagrant abuse of circumstances, even though the number of CHC offshore flights for the North Sea has been under pressure somewhat, there isn't an economically urgent situation for the helicopter business in Holland.
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Saw this in today's FT.
Crisis Hits North Sea Oil Search
By Carola Hoyos
Financial Times
Monday, April 13, 2009
The remaining lifespan of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production risks being halved as the economic crisis has prompted a plunge in exploration in one of the western world’s most important deposits, the industry has warned.
The number of exploration wells being drilled in the North Sea has collapsed by 78 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year, according to the most recent industry data from Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm.
In total, only 18 exploration and appraisal wells were drilled in the UK during the first quarter, marking a 41 per cent drop in total drilling activity compared with the same period last year. UK Oil and Gas, the industry group, is even more pessimistic, forecasting that total drilling could drop 66 per cent this year.
Derek Henderson, senior partner at Deloitte, said: “Unless exploration is at a healthy clip, it risks shortening the life of fields and the overall UK continental shelf, in this case.”
Exploration and appraisal wells are critical to any oil region’s long-term supply prospects. But they are particularly important for the North Sea, where ageing fields’ production is rapidly declining.
The UK and Europe will increasingly have to rely on Russia for natural gas and the Middle East for oil.
The worsening exploration climate could knock 10-15 years off the North Sea’s expected lifespan of 20-30 years, meaning almost half of all its infrastructure could be decommissioned within the next 11 years, UK Oil and Gas estimates.
Instead of satisfying 45 per cent of the UK’s oil and gas needs in 2020, at the current investment pace the North Sea would only be able to meet 12 per cent of its demand.
Oil prices have plummeted from $147 a barrel in July 2008 to about $50 today.
The North Sea’s situation is significantly worse than elsewhere because new discoveries tend to be smaller and rarer and old fields are becoming less productive but more expensive to maintain.
Analysts at Barclays Capital expect spending on global exploration and production to fall by only 12 per cent in 2009.
Companies – and the banks that fund them – are reluctant to explore the North Sea because oil prices at $40 to $50 a barrel make developing a new field, especially one that requires a lot of new infrastructure, a risky, if not foolhardy, venture. The industry forecasts further consolidation but fears it could lose as many as 50,000 of its 400,000 jobs in the next two years.
The fall in exploration activity is so bad that the Department of Energy has had to postpone its offshore licensing round and the Treasury has indicated that it will give companies some tax relief in the Budget later this month.
From 2010, the government is likely to suffer a significant drop in tax revenue because oil companies, together with banks, have in recent years been their most important sources of funding.
SOURCE: FT.com / Companies / Oil & Gas - Crisis hits North Sea oil search
Crisis Hits North Sea Oil Search
By Carola Hoyos
Financial Times
Monday, April 13, 2009
The remaining lifespan of the UK’s North Sea oil and gas production risks being halved as the economic crisis has prompted a plunge in exploration in one of the western world’s most important deposits, the industry has warned.
The number of exploration wells being drilled in the North Sea has collapsed by 78 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared with the same period last year, according to the most recent industry data from Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm.
In total, only 18 exploration and appraisal wells were drilled in the UK during the first quarter, marking a 41 per cent drop in total drilling activity compared with the same period last year. UK Oil and Gas, the industry group, is even more pessimistic, forecasting that total drilling could drop 66 per cent this year.
Derek Henderson, senior partner at Deloitte, said: “Unless exploration is at a healthy clip, it risks shortening the life of fields and the overall UK continental shelf, in this case.”
Exploration and appraisal wells are critical to any oil region’s long-term supply prospects. But they are particularly important for the North Sea, where ageing fields’ production is rapidly declining.
The UK and Europe will increasingly have to rely on Russia for natural gas and the Middle East for oil.
The worsening exploration climate could knock 10-15 years off the North Sea’s expected lifespan of 20-30 years, meaning almost half of all its infrastructure could be decommissioned within the next 11 years, UK Oil and Gas estimates.
Instead of satisfying 45 per cent of the UK’s oil and gas needs in 2020, at the current investment pace the North Sea would only be able to meet 12 per cent of its demand.
Oil prices have plummeted from $147 a barrel in July 2008 to about $50 today.
The North Sea’s situation is significantly worse than elsewhere because new discoveries tend to be smaller and rarer and old fields are becoming less productive but more expensive to maintain.
Analysts at Barclays Capital expect spending on global exploration and production to fall by only 12 per cent in 2009.
Companies – and the banks that fund them – are reluctant to explore the North Sea because oil prices at $40 to $50 a barrel make developing a new field, especially one that requires a lot of new infrastructure, a risky, if not foolhardy, venture. The industry forecasts further consolidation but fears it could lose as many as 50,000 of its 400,000 jobs in the next two years.
The fall in exploration activity is so bad that the Department of Energy has had to postpone its offshore licensing round and the Treasury has indicated that it will give companies some tax relief in the Budget later this month.
From 2010, the government is likely to suffer a significant drop in tax revenue because oil companies, together with banks, have in recent years been their most important sources of funding.
SOURCE: FT.com / Companies / Oil & Gas - Crisis hits North Sea oil search
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Beside the seaside
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These headlines 'Oil Prices Plummet' are an insult to the intelligence. Oil prices today are simply around what they were in 2006-7.
Historical Crude Oil Prices Table
The plummet was from an unsustainable level and oil companies are still making an obscene profit with oil at $40 a barrel. Just less obscene than $140 a barrel.
Historical Crude Oil Prices Table
The plummet was from an unsustainable level and oil companies are still making an obscene profit with oil at $40 a barrel. Just less obscene than $140 a barrel.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Aberdeenshire
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any more info on the plan from management to cut the CHC equal time roster? and is the workforce still united in industrial action if it is needed? has the date of the 20th of April slipped?
T4
T4
Some of the questions that were asked on this forum when First Reserve bought CHC are now being answered it would seem.
IIRC critics said First Reserve were not interested in the whole concept of helicopter ops, simply the revenue it produced and that would certainly appear to be the case now.
Greed, greed and more greed - how many millions per day do these guys have to make to keep themselves happy?
IIRC critics said First Reserve were not interested in the whole concept of helicopter ops, simply the revenue it produced and that would certainly appear to be the case now.
Greed, greed and more greed - how many millions per day do these guys have to make to keep themselves happy?
Join Date: Apr 2007
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how many millions per day?
Crab,
you are so right.
It's those greedy pension funds trying to make profits again, just to pay off folk who have worked all their lives.
Never mind if they don't get enough, though. The tax payer will bail them out.
Oh.
No.
That only works for the public sector, not for the rest of us.
TD
you are so right.
It's those greedy pension funds trying to make profits again, just to pay off folk who have worked all their lives.
Never mind if they don't get enough, though. The tax payer will bail them out.
Oh.
No.
That only works for the public sector, not for the rest of us.
TD
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: all over?
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Indeed Crab, you have also noticed what we in CHC have, and feared would happen. An owner with zero interest in their company, other than what the numbers say at a given moment in time. Not conducive to happy ops IMO. The best we can hope for now, is that it is as short lived as we all expect, and that they sell off again ASAP, without doing too much irreparable damage.
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Aberdeenshire
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CHC equal time roster problems
The rumour was that Scotia were looking to go on strike from the 20th of April if the equal time roster was removed as intended by management in EGPD. Is this still the case or has the problem been resolved?
T4
T4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nottingham uk
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A little birdie tells me that Aberdeen based pilots are not very happy with the state of affairs. I don't believe it was a case of going on strike from the 20th April, but the pilots did have a meeting last night, the majority of whom would probably vote for strike action if asked. Once again, CHC management have stated that they will implement their new 'howdy-doody' roster from today. This basically means they lose their equal time roster but that's okay too, because management know that it won't affect the pilots stress levels, or be a flight safety issue. Just lots of 'unhappy' pilots going to work for a while. How can that possibly be an issue, as long as they are seen to be productive and available at work? The new roster they are being given doesn't look too much different to what they have been used to up until the present time. (It just maybe that i'm missing something here)
New roster system:-
200 working days required, flexible 'X' working days, meaning you dont know what shift you will be asked to work, earlies or lates, until the evening beforehand. I think that means you will need to be available for the 17-18 hours of the next day so don't you go making any plans, you hear! But the best part is, you actually get to know what days you will be working two weeks in advance. I really do feel so sorry for my ex-husband now....NOT! HA HA.
Lots of love, the bitter and twisted cow!
New roster system:-
200 working days required, flexible 'X' working days, meaning you dont know what shift you will be asked to work, earlies or lates, until the evening beforehand. I think that means you will need to be available for the 17-18 hours of the next day so don't you go making any plans, you hear! But the best part is, you actually get to know what days you will be working two weeks in advance. I really do feel so sorry for my ex-husband now....NOT! HA HA.
Lots of love, the bitter and twisted cow!
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nottingham uk
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You cannot underestimate the power of the internet. Communications travel like the speed of light. Watch CHC squirm. Where once there was greatness, all will become a barren landscape of downsizing and smaller operators doing the same work. This isn't going to apply to the North Sea (Aberdeen) only.
Watch the Southern bases go west too.
The Perenco 139 incident a couple of weeks ago off Great Yarmouth didn't exactly do anything to enhance relations between the two companies.
As to the question posed above?
Wait until the oil companies realise this is to become a reality. Remember the threat of strike action pre 2005 pay rises, and the pay dispute, where, at the 11th hour, the companies had to give in as directed by the oil companies.
I always think it's entertaining for management to attempt to enforce change, not always realising that the bigger picture is, without a doubt, going to have just as negative effect on themselves. No CHC pilots? No CHC management.
Contracts might well change hands, but would any new company coming in to take over present CHC contracts, be interested in taking on the managers who were responsible for the poor performance of the outgoing company? I think not.
What is that oft used North American phrase? Wake up and smell the coffee?
My money is on a summer of discontent, when they're likely to be at their busiest. You can't take a lifestyle roster working 182 days away from the workforce, then enforce upon them a 200 working days per annum, fully flexible roster with duty times unknown until the evening beforehand and only two weeks notice of your days off. Management think that this is the best workable solution. Light the touchpaper and stand well clear.
Pull up a deck chair. Get your donkey jackets out. Light the oil drums. Get those placards made.
Can the last person to leave CHC house, please turn out the lights? Thank You!
Watch the Southern bases go west too.
The Perenco 139 incident a couple of weeks ago off Great Yarmouth didn't exactly do anything to enhance relations between the two companies.
As to the question posed above?
Wait until the oil companies realise this is to become a reality. Remember the threat of strike action pre 2005 pay rises, and the pay dispute, where, at the 11th hour, the companies had to give in as directed by the oil companies.
I always think it's entertaining for management to attempt to enforce change, not always realising that the bigger picture is, without a doubt, going to have just as negative effect on themselves. No CHC pilots? No CHC management.
Contracts might well change hands, but would any new company coming in to take over present CHC contracts, be interested in taking on the managers who were responsible for the poor performance of the outgoing company? I think not.
What is that oft used North American phrase? Wake up and smell the coffee?
My money is on a summer of discontent, when they're likely to be at their busiest. You can't take a lifestyle roster working 182 days away from the workforce, then enforce upon them a 200 working days per annum, fully flexible roster with duty times unknown until the evening beforehand and only two weeks notice of your days off. Management think that this is the best workable solution. Light the touchpaper and stand well clear.
Pull up a deck chair. Get your donkey jackets out. Light the oil drums. Get those placards made.
Can the last person to leave CHC house, please turn out the lights? Thank You!
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Look out - pension thieves about!
I think that Mitchaa has hit the nail on the head.
Bristow managed it about 5 years ago. In their case it was threats of redundancy. Watch the right hand - redundancy, redundancy. O.K. redundancy threat over, aren't we nice managers.
Meanwhile the left hand had stolen the D.B. pension.
Let's hope the CHC guys are a bit more savvy.
O.A.
Bristow managed it about 5 years ago. In their case it was threats of redundancy. Watch the right hand - redundancy, redundancy. O.K. redundancy threat over, aren't we nice managers.
Meanwhile the left hand had stolen the D.B. pension.
Let's hope the CHC guys are a bit more savvy.
O.A.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Dark side
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Coning Angel, you seem well informed or are you, as per usual facts seem to slip through the net,
One fact is for sure looks like a CHC BASHER !!! Bad History there somewhere ??
One fact is for sure looks like a CHC BASHER !!! Bad History there somewhere ??