Unite the union has today announced extra days of industrial
action set to hit Dounreay power station as part of an ongoing
pay dispute.
Over 500 Unite members employed by Nuclear Restoration Services
Limited (NRS) will now take 24-hour strike action
on 19 June in addition to the action
scheduled for tomorrow (29 May).
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “NRS
has the ability to make its workers a fair pay offer and the fact
that it refuses to do so while risking shutdowns at Dounreay
speaks volumes.”
Unite's growing membership at the power station
remain resolute and the company's intransigence will only fuel
their determination. Unite fully back our members at Dounreay
power station in the fight for better jobs, pay and
conditions.”
Unite can also confirm that an overtime ban and an end to working
voluntary appointments will continue from 1 to 18
June, and thereafter from 20 to 30
June. Voluntary appointments are essential to ensuring
the site meets the delivery targets in the lifetime plan. Unite
members have suspended these appointments as part of the ongoing
industrial action.
An overtime ban will lead to maintenance work which usually
occurs at the weekend having to be undertaken during the working
week. This could lead to the site having to be closed down.
Unite can further confirm since the initial day of strike action,
NRS has not returned to the negotiating table. The union's
membership overwhelmingly rejected a revised pay offer which
proposed a one-off £500 payment on top of a basic 4.5 per cent
increase.
Unite maintains the offer amounts to a substantial pay cut as the
true rate of inflation, RPI, stood at 13.5 per cent as measured
in March 2023, when the pay increase was due. Unite's NRS
membership includes craft technicians, general operators,
engineers, maintenance fitters and safety advisors. The
membership previously
backed strike action by 85.5 per cent on a high turnout
of 82.3 per cent.
Marc Jackson, Unite industrial officer,
added: “Unite is extremely disappointed that the
senior management team at NRS have not even made contact to
resolve this pay dispute.
“We have warned NRS that unless a revised pay offer
is put on the table which our members can consider, then we are
heading for prolonged industrial action.
“The extra days of industrial action will have a
substantial impact on the ability of NRS to undertake essential
maintenance and safety work. It will also lead to Dounreay
potentially being closed at points because the company simply
won't have the people to do the jobs.”
The remuneration package of the highest paid NRS (formerly
Magnox) director went up from £331,000 to £651,000 at March 2023,
and the company paid dividends of £2.1 million in the same
period.
