First strike on Ekofisk

by the Norwegian Petroleum Museum

Six hundred Norwegian workers in the Brownaker joint venture between Brown & Root and Norway’s Aker group downed tools on 20 May 1978.

— Eldfisk 2/7 A. Photo: ConocoPhillips/Norwegian Petroleum Museum

Hitting the Eldfisk 2/7 A and 2/7 B platforms, this stoppage had its background in the working methods of an American supervisor.

First, a foreman was fired because he had used outdated drawings. Then, on the same day, a foreman scaffolder also lost his job for oversleeping – although he was placed in a night shift cabin and had not received the alarm call ordered.

The third man to be dismissed was a union official who tried to negotiate on behalf for the first pair. The Norwegian workforce then struck, and a go-slow began among the Spanish personnel.

This stoppage lasted for four days, and was resolved when the American supervisor concerned quit and moved across to the British sector. The dispute marked the start of the biggest wave of strikes in Norway since 1945.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Ryggvik, Helge and Smith-Solbakken, Marie, Blod, svette og olje, Norsk oljehistorie volume 3, Oslo, 1997: 232.