AWE nuclear staff urged to accept new 2.5% pay deal

Workers said they were angry over the increased payments to the AWE board

Workers at the firm that builds warheads for Trident, the UK's nuclear deterrent, have been urged to accept an improved pay offer.

Staff held a protest last month at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Berkshire after being offered a pay rise of less than 2%.

Employees had planned a one-day strike but the action was called off.

The Prospect union, which represents 1,300 workers, has urged members to accept an improved 2.5% pay rise deal.

The ballot of members will close on 13 December and, if agreed, the salary rise would be paid in January.

Anger at dividends

AWE had originally said the offer was the best offer possible in the economic climate.

The new deal would also include a review of AWE's pay system and a promise to address industrial relations issues.

In November, staff at AWE's sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield held a protest in their lunch break - believed to be the first action taken by workers in the company's 50-year history.

Prospect, which represents 1,300 of the 4,000 people who work at the sites, had said the original pay offer did not reflect the success of the company.

It said workers were angry over the increased payments to the AWE board and level of dividends being paid to its controlling companies.