Nuclear plant workers end strike threat for ‘groundbreaking’ pay deal

Members of GMB and Unite at EDF's reactor in Torness, in East Lothian were due to walk out on Monday.

Nuclear plant workers in East Lothian end strike threat for ‘groundbreaking’ pay deal — Strike: Union members at EDF's reactor in Torness, in East Lothian were due to walk out on Monday. EDF

7th Jul 2023

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The threat of strike action by workers at nuclear power plant in Scotland has been avoided after a “groundbreaking” pay deal was reached.

Members of GMB and Unite working at EDF’s reactors in Torness, in East Lothian, and Hartlepool, in England, were due to walk out on Monday.

The trade unions said that previously, workers were often paid below rates set by the National Agreement for Engineering Construction Industry and never getting a vote in negotiations.

They added that now, workers have accepted a “groundbreaking” deal with EDF which includes recognition, collective bargaining rights and productivity bonuses improved by up to ten times.

The deal covers workers at EDF’s seven power stations – Torness, Hartlepool, Heysham 1 and 2, Dungeness, Hunterston Hinkley Point B and Sizewell B.

GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said: “This deal is groundbreaking, giving our engineering contraction workforce on the EDF fleet a voice, some for the very first time.

“GMB is proud to have achieved a deal that will put money in people’s pockets, give them better protection at work and give them a collective voice moving forward.

“It is challenging work that our members do. It’s time they were rewarded appropriately for it.”