ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. - Canada's oil industry received a jolt Wednesday when 420 workers aboard the Hibernia oil platform voted to join a union - a first for an offshore production platform in North America.

The successful bid will soon be followed by other membership drives in the offshore sector, said Ron Smith, national representative for Local 60N of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union. "In fighting this, we actually fought the whole industry," he said, noting unionization was supported by two thirds of those who voted.

"This industry does not want unions in the offshore. . . . They know that if one group unionizes, the potential is there for others to follow suit."

Union officials confirmed the Terra Nova offshore project, operated by Petro-Canada, is the next target for union organizers.

Meanwhile, the Hibernia Management Development Corp. - the group of energy companies that operates the platform - is pushing ahead with a court challenge that could overturn the union's certification.

But union officials insisted the judicial review in Newfoundland Supreme Court, which is looking into the jurisdiction of the province's Labour Relations Board, will be an uphill struggle for Hibernia's partners.

The legal wrangling won't stop the union from seeking a first contract, Smith said.

Under the terms of Newfoundland's Labour Relations Act, the workers are prohibited from striking, Smith said. And a mediator will be brought in to help negotiate the collective agreement.

While the union win is thought to be a first in North America, there are unionized production platforms in the North Sea, Smith said.

There was also a successful union drive aboard an exploration rig off Newfoundland's coast in the 1980s. But that effort led nowhere because the rig was moved soon after the union won certification.

Last March, two union drives among Hibernia workers were cut short after the labour board ruled the unions didn't have enough support.

The applications were rejected on the grounds that neither the Fish Food and Allied Workers nor Local 97 of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers union met the basic membership requirements.

At least 40 per cent of the bargaining unit must sign union cards before a vote can be held.

On any given day, there are about 240 people working on the Hibernia platform, which sits on the Grand Banks about 315 kilometres southeast of St. John's.

A new collective agreement will cover drillers, roughnecks, cooks, mechanics, process operators, medics, millwrights, welders, electricians, communications technicians, among others.

In 1997, Hibernia became the first oil platform to go into production off Newfoundland. The second project, Terra Nova, is expected to produce first oil by the end of the year.