More Dounreay unions opt to strike in pay row

Hundreds more workers at Dounreay Power Station in Caithness have voted for strike action.

Unite the Union said today its 460-strong membership employed by Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) at Dounreay had “overwhelmingly” backed the move.

Another union, the GMB, revealed yesterday its members at the nuclear plant had voted to strike after long-running pay talks stalled.

A third union, Prospect, is also balloting members.

Dounreay’s bosses have insisted there is no threat to safety.

Unite said its members backed a walkout by 85.5% on a turnout of 82.3%.

And the union warned a strike in the coming weeks is “inevitable”.

But it also said NRS, which recently changed its name from Magnox, has a “final opportunity” to resolve the dispute by making a revised pay offer to the workforce.

NRS is responsible for decommissioning Dounreay and 11 other sites across the UK.

Unite general-secretary Sharon Graham said: “The Dounreay workforce have overwhelmingly backed industrial action because NRS has repeatedly failed to make them a fair pay offer.

“At the same time, the company has found the time to feather the nests of its directors.

“Unless NRS quickly gets back round the negotiating table to make our members an offer they deserve, then industrial action will be inevitable. Unite will fully support our members at Dounreay power station in the fight for better jobs, pay and conditions.”

A pay increase of 4.5%, effective from April 2023, was rejected by Dounreay workers in a consultative pay ballot.

Union bosses have slammed the offer as “inadequate”, saying it amounts to a substantial real-terms pay cut.

The proposal covered a spell last year when UK inflation was running above 11%.

A spokesman for NRS said it was “disappointed” by the latest ballot result.

But the plant’s bosses “remain committed to working with the unions to find a resolution that is fair and affordable”, he added.

He continued: “While we hope industrial action can be avoided, we will now implement contingency plans to ensure minimum staffing levels are in place to maintain safety, security and environmental protection during any period of disruption.”

Dounreay’s workforce includes craft technicians, general operators, chemical and electrical engineers, and maintenance fitters and safety advisers.

Unite industrial officer Marc Jackson said the plant’s workers had spoken “loudly and clearly”.

He added: “Unacceptable pay offers by NRS will no longer be tolerated.

“NRS has basically strung our membership along since January 2023 and they have simply had enough.”

Remuneration for the highest-paid NRS director rose to £651,000 in the 12 months to March 2023, from £331,000 a year earlier.

Accounts lodged at Companies House also show the firm, a whollyowned subsidiary of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, paid shareholder dividends of £2.1 million in the latest period.

“It found the time to feather the nests of its directors