Strikes to hit BAE Warton and Samlesbury over pay dispute this November
Workers at two BAE Systems sites in Lancashire are set to strike this winter over a pay dispute.
Members of the Unite trade union will take action at the Warton and Samlesbury plants from November 5 to 25 after rejecting a 3.6 per cent pay offer, which they say falls below the rate of inflation and represents a real-terms pay cut.
The strike will affect staff across four sections, including manufacturing and quality control, and, according to the union, is expected to bring production at “both sites to a standstill”.
In addition, Unite members will stop working overtime, cease travelling off-site, pause additional training and withdraw from voluntary roles.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “BAE Systems is one of the world's biggest defence manufacturers and made billions in profit last year.
“It pays its CEO vast sums and yet sees fit to try and short-change our members for the sake of shareholders.
"This is completely unacceptable and Unite will be backing our members in their dispute until BAE Systems comes to its senses."
Some professional services staff, including aerospace engineers, have also expressed frustration that their pay offer is lower than that received by shop floor colleagues, who were awarded a 4.5 per cent increase and an extra day of annual leave.
Unite regional officer Ross Quinn added: "Staff have shown the level of their anger by voting overwhelmingly for strike action and will now bring BAE’s operations at two major factories to a standstill.
“The current pay offer is utterly unacceptable and BAE needs to come back to the table with an improved offer that our members can accept if they don’t want to see workers on strike next month.”
A spokesperson for BAE Systems said: “We believe the Company’s offer, which includes enhancements to pay and pensions and has been accepted by all 18 of the other Unite bargaining groups in our UK business, is fair and ensures that our employees will continue to receive market-leading pay and reward, while balancing our need to be competitive and affordable for our customers.
“The 416 employees choosing to take action make up less than 3.5% of the workforce across our Warton and Samlesbury sites, and this population have received a 25% rise in pay since 2019.
“We are really disappointed that this small group and Unite are attempting to disrupt the critical work we do for customers; we are determined to continue to deliver despite those efforts.”