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Forbes/AFX News Limited: Shell may face strike after rejecting Dutch unions' ultimatum on pension reform: “Shell said it had exhausted the possibility of further changes to its pension, after three rounds of negotiations with employee representatives.”: Friday 28 October 2005  

 

AMSTERDAM (AFX) - Royal Dutch Shell is facing a possible strike from Monday at its Dutch activities after rejecting an ultimatum from unions to withdraw proposed reforms to its pension.

 

The unions have given the company until 6.00 pm Monday to withdraw the proposal, which would raise the retirement age and require employees to start paying pension premiums.

 

In a statement today, Shell called on the unions to consider safety issues at the production sites and the interests of third parties if production is disrupted, and to inform the company well in advance of the type and length of possible industrial action.

 

The unions have called on the 800 employees at Shell's Pernis refinery and Moerdijk chemicals plant to attend a protest rally Monday at Pernis at 2.00 pm, as a 'final warning' to the company.

 

'They have a strike on their hands,' a spokesman for the union FNV Bongenoten said. 'From Monday 6.00 pm we will start reducing production. That means minimal production after a week.'

 

The strike is planned for the 416,000-barrel-a-day Pernis refinery and Moerdijk chemicals sites, with unions also attempting to organize action at NAM, a natural gas 50-50 joint venture with Exxon Mobil Corp. Groningen, operated by NAM, is Europe's biggest onshore gas field.

 

The new pension proposals, expected to take effect from Jan 1, affect over 10,000 workers in the Netherlands, including those at NAM.

 

Shell said it had exhausted the possibility of further changes to its pension, after three rounds of negotiations with employee representatives.

 

If it goes ahead with union demands, the company is facing a 9 pct rise in annual wage costs, it said. The company denied the pension changes are a cost-cutting measure, referring instead to the need for 'management of future costs'.

 

amsterdam@afxnews.com 

 

cjs/ak  

 

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