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HOUSTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plcsaid on Thursday it looks forward to handling industrynegotiations on a national contract covering 30,000 U.S.refinery and chemical plant workers represented by the UnitedSteelworkers union (USW).
The talks begin formally in January and Shell, which hasrepresented its peers since 1997, is lead negotiator on behalfof companies including BP, Chevron Corp, ExxonMobil Corp and others.
The refining industry this year has enjoyed strong profits,near-full utilization rates and record product exports. In theJune quarter, the margin on turning crude to gasoline, dieseland other products was the highest since 2015.
"Our goal in the bargaining process will be to reach anagreement with the USW which ensures that our employees continueto receive competitive pay and benefits while keeping theindustry competitive in the global marketplace," Shell spokesmanRay Fisher said in a statement on Thursday.
He declined to comment on the oil industry's positions inthe talks.
Shell's statement was similar to that made by the head ofthe USW's oil bargaining program on Wednesday. The union isaiming for a three-year contract with wage increases of about 6percent per year.
"Our goal is a mutually beneficial agreement for our membersand the companies they work for," Kim Nibarger, chairman of theunion's national oil bargaining program, said in an interview onWednesday.
Union members with four years' experience currently earnabout $40 an hour, Nibarger said.
The current contract expires on Feb. 1. The one to benegotiated between Shell and United Steelworkers will set thepattern for contracts between local unions and refineries,chemical plants and pipeline operators.(Reporting by Erwin SebaEditing by Bill Trott)
