Over 1,000 workers at the Sellafield nuclear power site in Cumbria have gone on strike due to a dispute over pay.
Sellafield workers who are members of Unite the Union have opted for strike action after accusing management of ‘going cold’ over negotiations to reach a new pay deal, with Unite demanding talks over an imposed 1.5% wage increase.
A spokesman for Sellafield Ltd said that the company are working directly with Cumbria Police and Cumbria County Council to try to minimise disruption caused by the strike.
Unite the Union’s regional officer, Graham Williams, said that Sellafield Ltd’s imposed wage increase was ‘completely unacceptable’ and that there could be further industrial action at the site in the run-up to the festive season.
The Sellafield spokesman said:
As always, the safety and security of the Sellafield site, our workforce and the community are our priorities during this industrial action.
However, strikes by their nature are designed to cause disruption and people should expect traffic problems while pickets are in place.
We have taken all steps available to us to minimise disruption including opening all access gates and advising staff on steps they can take to help.
The strike by Unite’s members is not the first at Sellafield this year, with approximately 3,000 GMB members staging a 24-hour strike in September as part of the same dispute over pay.
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