The oil service workers, represented by the SAFE trade union (Energy Workers’ Union), carry out the actual pioneering work involved in exploring, drilling and casing natural gas and oil wells, as well as constructing and maintaining the entire production infrastructure. SAFE’s decision on June 18 to extend the strike to include just under 400 oil service workers was followed on June 28 by a lockout of up to 2,000 workers by several employers. All strikes at company level are illegal and receive no support from the trade union strike fund. In this year’s collective bargaining round, the oil workers’ union Styrke and the employers’ association Offshore Norge did not even allow a strike to come to pass. While oil workers can for a time earn relatively good wages, they carry out extremely dangerous and harmful work, which serves as the source of the energy companies’ vast fortunes.