Berkshire nuclear weapon workers vote to strike
The union Prospect is angry over the way job losses are being handled
Workers at AWE in Aldermaston and Burghfield that build and maintain the UK’s nuclear weapons have voted to strike over 800 job losses.
The union Prospect said the Atomic Weapons Establishment’s (AWE) staff were being “pushed to the brink by the repeated errors” of its leadership, affecting sites in Berkshire.
The number of redundancies has crept up from 500 announced late last year.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) said it was “disappointed” by the result but was looking for a “constructive resolution”.
The union has warned action could cost AWE millions of pounds at a time when the Government has said it will invest £15bn in a new nuclear programme.
“This crucial investment risks being derailed if this restructure continues to cause internal chaos,” Prospect said.
But it said a “failed reorganisation could have much greater consequences for the future of the organisation”.
Prospect also accused AWE of “drip-feeding” information over weeks so full consultation with its scientists and engineers was “impossible”.
The nature and timing of the industrial action will be announced in due course.
Prospect members work in specialist roles as scientists and engineers across AWE and are vital to the UK’s atomic weapons programme.
They include world-leading scientists who, says Prospect, have been pushed to the brink by the repeated errors from AWE leadership.
Last year, Newbury MP Lee Dillon tabled a Commons question to ask the secretary of state for defence, whether his Department has issued guidance to the AWE on proposed restructuring.
Defence minister Luke Pollard answered: “AWE notified the Ministry of Defence last year of its intent to conduct a reorganisation to strengthen the company as it embarks on the challenge of designing and manufacturing the next generation of the UK’s sovereign nuclear warhead.
“The ongoing restructuring will not reduce the overall number of employees, as the company will continue to hire appropriately qualified skilled professionals, including scientists and engineers. “This activity will ensure AWE has the right people with the right skillsets in place to deliver defence outputs, both now and in the future.
“The precise nature of the reorganisation is an operational matter for AWE.