SeaRose FPSO workers vote to join Unifor, with union also eyeing Hebron platform

CBC

5 days ago

A majority of workers on the SeaRose FPSO have voted to join Canada's largest union, and Unifor says it's now hoping to do the same with Hebron workers.
Unifor already represents workers on the Hibernia and Terra Nova FPSO platforms, and the vote by SeaRose workers represents the first time in two decades offshore oil workers have joined a union.
"We all know that offshore workers face unique challenges out there, and for that reason they need a strong union. And we're so pleased that they chose Unifor as the union that will fight for them and will represent them as we move forward," Jennifer Murray, Unifor's Atlantic regional director, told CBC News.
Unifor sent members of its organizing department to Belfast last year while the SeaRose was in refit at an Irish shipyard.
Murray could not provide an exact number, but said the percentage of the roughly 200 SeaRose workers who signed cards during the union drive in Northern Ireland was "not an overwhelming majority."
"We got the majority," said Murray.
The union filed for certification with the labour board in October, but Murray said "challenges with the employers" led to delays in counting the ballots, and certification was finalized on May 23.
Murray said the union is now waiting for collective bargaining to begin.
The SeaRose is majority owned (60 per cent) and operated by Calgary-based Cenovus Energy, while Suncor Energy has a 40 per cent ownership stake.
In a statement, Cenovus spokesperson Colleen McConnell said the owners "have long had an open and collaborative relationship with workers on SeaRose, and this will not change."
McConnell added that Cenovus will work with the union on the next stage of the process, which is negotiating an inaugural collective agreement.
Cenovus 'trying to instill confusion,' says union
But Murray signalled that relations are off to a bumpy start, and she accused the company of trying to alter the employment terms and conditions of some employees while a so-called "freeze provision" is in place.
She said Cenovus is "trying to instill confusion in the workers," and said the union is reassuring the workers that the union will "continue to fight for them always."
The 271-metre long SeaRose is a floating production, storage and offloading vessel that began operating in the White Rose oil field in the Jeanne d'Arc Basin in late 2005. The vessel resumed production in March following a extensive refit that will extend the life of the White Rose oil field by about 14 years.
The SeaRose produced more than 6.6 million barrels of crude in 2022, according to reports filed with the offshore regulator.
According to mandated benefits reports, just over 300 people were employed in offshore positions in the White Rose field in late 2024, including on the SeaRose, support vessels, helicopters and shuttle tankers.
Murray was unable to say whether the SeaRose certification will include future workers on the West White Rose expansion project.
"That's the question of the hour," said Murray. "But we will gladly represent them. And certainly if they are not all automatically certified with Unifor, we will be out talking to these workers, encouraging them to also join the union."
The 145-metre tall, 210,000-tonne concrete gravity base for the West White Rose project, which was constructed in Argentia, is now floating in Placentia Bay. It's expected to be towed to the oil field sometime this month, after ballasting operations are complete.
The 25,000-tonne topsides for the platform is currently being transported by ship from Ingleside, Texas, and is scheduled to be installed on the concrete platform in July.
The West White Rose project is expected to create roughly 250 permanent offshore jobs, and first-oil is forecasted for the second quarter of 2026, with daily production eventually expected to reach 80,000 barrels.
The new platform will send the oil back to the SeaRose FPSO through a series of subsea flowlines.
Meanwhile, Murray said the union is making connections with workers on Hebron, which is now the only non-unionized oil platform in the offshore.
"We're pretty confident that we will see the rest of them coming on board," she said.