More than 500 nuclear plant workers will leave their jobs this week amid a pay dispute.
Members of the Unite union at the Dounreay factory in the Scottish Highlands plan to go on 24-hour strike on Wednesday after rejecting a revised pay offer from their employer, Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS).
Unionists will also support a ban on overtime from Thursday.
The NRS has proposed a one-off payment of £500 on top of a base increase of 4.5%.
Unite said 80% of the 92% of participants rejected the deal, with the union saying it represented a “significant pay cut in real terms” as inflation – in terms of the retail price index – was at 11.4 % when the salary increase was due in April. 2023.
A new day of industrial action has been scheduled for May 29, with Unite saying it is prepared to add more strikes if “no move is made by the NRS”.
NRS said it was “disappointed” with the decision, but remains “committed to finding a resolution that is fair and reasonable.”
Unite workers include craft technicians, general operators, chemical and electrical engineers, maintenance installers and safety consultants.
Unite said the remuneration package of NRS’s highest-paid director rose from £331,000 to £651,000 in March 2023, and the company paid dividends of £2.1 million over the same period.
Marc Jackson, industrial director at Unite, said offers amounting to a “significant pay cut” would not be tolerated.
He added: “We have a growing number of members in Dounreay, which is due to the hard work of our shop stewards, and the NRS needs to realise, if it hasn’t already, that we are heading towards prolonged industrial action.
“Unite is actively seeking more days of action as the NRS appears unable to resolve this dispute through negotiation.
“The company should be under no illusions about our members’ determination to get the pay rise they deserve.”
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It is understood that union workers represented by Prospect will accept the offer, while GMB members will support the strike.
GMB organizer Lesley-Anne MacAskill said the public service pay mission, which is a set of pay guidelines, had been used as an excuse to delay engagement with paid workers.
She has now written to Andrew Bowie MP, minister for nuclear and renewable energy, urging him to remove the NRS from a public service pay structure.
In his letter, MacAskill said: “Our members have been left to endure a cost of living crisis for more than a year without the support of a well-deserved and overdue pay rise.
“This strike would have been entirely avoidable if you, as the employer, had removed Dounreay from public service pay responsibility.”
In response to the Unite strike, an NRS spokesperson said: “We are disappointed by today’s announcement but remain committed to finding a resolution that is fair and affordable.
“Our contingency plans are being implemented to ensure the site remains safe and compliant during any period of industrial action.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
