Greater than 500 nuclear energy station staff will stroll out this week amid a row over pay.
Unite union members on the Dounreay plant within the Scottish Highlands plan to take 24-hour strike motion on Wednesday after rejecting a revised pay provide from their employer Nuclear Restoration Providers (NRS).
The union members will even assist an time beyond regulation ban from Thursday.
NRS proposed a one-off £500 fee on high of a primary 4.5% enhance.
Unite stated 80% of the 92% turnout rejected the deal, with the union saying it represented a “vital actual phrases pay lower” as inflation – when it comes to the retail value index – stood at 11.4% when the pay enhance was due in April 2023.
An extra day of business motion has been scheduled for 29 Might, with Unite saying it’s ready so as to add extra strikes if “no motion is made by NRS”.
NRS stated it was “disenchanted” within the choice however stays “dedicated to discovering a decision that’s honest and affordable”.
The Unite staff embody craft technicians, basic operators, chemical and electrical engineers, upkeep fitters and security advisers.
Unite has claimed the remuneration package deal of the highest-paid NRS director went up from £331,000 to £651,000 at March 2023, and the corporate paid dividends of £2.1m in the identical interval.
Marc Jackson, Unite industrial officer, stated provides amounting to a “vital pay lower” wouldn’t be tolerated.
He added: “We now have a rising membership at Dounreay, which is right down to the onerous work of our store stewards, and NRS want to understand, if they do not already, that we’re heading for extended industrial motion.
“Unite is actively taking a look at additional days of motion as a result of NRS appear incapable of resolving this dispute by negotiation.
“The corporate ought to be underneath no illusions as to the willpower of our members to get the pay rise they deserve.”
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It’s understood union staff represented by Prospect will settle for the provide, whereas GMB members will again strike motion.
Lesley-Anne MacAskill, organiser at GMB, stated the civil service pay remit, which is a set of pay pointers, had been used as an excuse to delay participating with staff on pay.
She has now written to Andrew Bowie MP, minister for nuclear and renewables, urging him to take away NRS from a civil service pay framework.
In her letter, Ms MacAskill stated: “Our members have been left to endure a value of dwelling disaster for properly over a 12 months with out the assist of a deserved and overdue pay rise.
“This strike would have been totally avoidable when you, as an employer, had eliminated Dounreay from the civil service pay remit.”
In response to Unite’s strike motion, a spokesperson for NRS stated: “We’re disenchanted by as we speak’s announcement however stay dedicated to discovering a decision that’s honest and inexpensive.
“Our contingency plans are being carried out to make sure the location stays protected, safe and compliant throughout any interval of business motion.”