PGS faces strike as union demands 11 pct pay rise

OSLO May 5 (Reuters) - Norwegian offshore oil services provider Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS) (PGS.OL) said on Tuesday it faced growing strike action after failing to agree pay increases with one of its unions.

PGS said Seismic Union Parat, which represents about 15 percent of its marine seismic crew, had rejected the management's 2 percent pay increase offer for 2009.

"The claimed increase in salary and benefits from Parat is estimated to represent a 10.8 percent increase from the 2008 level," PGS said in a statement.

PGS carries out seismic scans of the seabed for oil and gas companies and like other oilfield service companies has been hit by lower energy prices and spending cuts by its clients.

"The strike will affect the members of Parat involved in the rigging of the vessels Sterling and Apollo from May 5, and will gradually be stepped up to include Parat members on other vessels until June 10," said PGS, which has implemented a zero percent salary increase for its top management this year. (Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa; Editing by Dan Lalor)