Workers at Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire could soon be balloted for strike action over 206 proposed redundancies, after overwhelmingly rejecting the latest offer from the company.
Union Unite said today that the prospect had surfaced after members had rejected the management’s latest offer by 84 per cent.
Members of two other unions on site, GMB and Prospect, have accepted the terms.
Unite representatives said that if the workers voted to strike it would be the first time that such action had taken place at the plant.
The huge power station is the largest of its type in the 海角视频, providing 5 per cent of the 海角视频's electricity.
The dispute centres on the major reduction required as it goes coal-free at Selby next April. Four of the site's six generation units have already been switched to biomass, in the first step of what is regarded as Europe's largest decarbonisation project.
Carbon capture and storage plans are also being rolled out for the whole of the Humber region, using the plant as the anchor.
Unite said that when a pay deal was negotiated last year, it was agreed that there would be no compulsory redundancies amongst the 600-strong workforce, but it claims the company has now backtracked on that agreement. That is refuted by Drax, with the company referring to previous joint statements around reducing the number wherever possible.
Most Read
Unite regional officer Shane Sweeting said: “The members have rejected the revised offer by an 84 per cent majority and voted to proceed to an industrial action ballot.
“Our members even offered to take a pay and bonus freeze to improve redundancy terms and maintain jobs, but that has been rejected by the bosses.
“This must be seen against a background of a soaring share price based on the future development at Drax and huge profits of £415 million generated in the last financial year by the Selby site alone.
“However if the company adopted a scheme of natural wastage as workers left or retired, this would cost just £25 million a year for a limited period until the workforce is reduced.
“What we have here is a classic case of bad faith by the management as this highly profitable company pledged there would no compulsory redundancies when the pay deal was agreed in 2019.
“They backtracked on this promise, despite the Selby staff working flat-out during the pandemic and being classed as key workers. So we are now preparing for the strike ballot which will be held in July.”
A spokesperson for Drax, which is eyeing up a £60 million coronavirus hit, said: “No pledge was made last year about compulsory redundancies. A joint statement agreed with Unite in February when we announced we would be stopping using coal in March 2021 bears testament to this.
"We continue to work closely with the trades unions to agree the enhanced redundancy terms linked to the 206 roles which will be made redundant when Drax stops using coal next year. The majority of GMB and Prospect union members who voted in a consultative ballot accepted the enhanced redundancy terms. Regrettably, a majority of Unite members who voted confirmed their support for industrial action in the consultative ballot."