Staff at UK plant that makes missiles for Ukraine to strike over pay | Industrial motion

Staff at a British weapons plant that provides missiles to Ukraine are to stage a two-week strike after accusing the Ministry of Defence of breaking a pledge to carry significant pay talks.

The GMB commerce union mentioned on Thursday that almost 50 employees who deal with Storm Shadow and Brimstone missiles assembled at an MoD munitions plant at Beith in Ayrshire would go on strike from Monday.

The union suspended its plans to stage that strike in mid-August after the MoD agreed to talks on the conciliation service Acas however union leaders mentioned they did so below false pretences and in dangerous religion.

There was no substantive provide, mentioned Chris Kennedy, a GMB Scotland organiser. “We had been assured decision-makers could be arriving with constructive proposals to resolve this dispute however they didn’t and there wasn’t,” he added.

“There was nothing new to debate and nothing new to take again to our members. If the MoD was suggested this was the way to proceed, it was badly suggested.

“It was, in truth, an train in dangerous religion and disrespect and has solely hardened our members’ dedication to safe honest pay. They don’t need to strike however have been given no selection.”

The strike is a big escalation of a simmering dispute between the GMB’s members at Beith and the Defence Tools & Help (DE&S) company – the MoD company that handles the army’s provides, tools and weapons – over their pay and bonuses. In June and July, it staged a handful of one-day stoppages, the primary within the company’s historical past.

The GMB estimates its members, who deal with, load and transport the missiles, are as much as £18,000 a yr worse off than the specialist employees who assemble them. These expert “craft” workers got pay and bonuses will increase to cease them leaving for better-paid non-public sector jobs.

Their marketing campaign for higher pay gained the help from commerce union leaders and opposition politicians in Ukraine, and from the Scottish Nationwide celebration. The GMB mentioned the plant’s craft employees had signed a petition backing the pay calls for from their non-craft colleagues.

The MoD mentioned it had contingency plans in place to minimise disruption and mentioned the strike would haven’t any impact on missile deliveries to Ukraine.

In August, the MoD implied it will make a greater provide within the Acas talks.

“We’re referring this dispute to Acas’s conciliation service, which can assist us discover potential alternatives that we will agree on to discover a decision,” the MoD mentioned in mid-August. “It is a voluntary course of and is a transparent measure of our willingness and intent to have interaction constructively and productively with GMB to resolve this difficulty.”

It claimed on Thursday that it had made a good provide to the strikers. “DE&S administration has put ahead a proposal which might considerably enhance the pay of the employees in dispute in a sustainable and inexpensive method,” a spokesperson mentioned. “[As] with all employers, workers are paid in a different way relying on grade in addition to the character of their function.”

Louise Gilmour, GMB Scotland’s secretary, mentioned: “Everybody brings totally different expertise to their work and that ought to be recognised however the function of our members is prime to the efficient operation of this necessary web site.

“They’re solely asking for equity and the help they’ve obtained from Scotland to Ukraine reveals why they deserve it.”