Pay deal agreed in Coulport nuclear weapons base dispute

About 70 workers at RNAD Coulport will receive backdated pay

A pay deal has been agreed in a dispute at the Coulport nuclear weapons base on the Clyde.

Unite members had been staging targeted days of 24-hour strike action since 16 December 2021, and have had an overtime ban in place since last November.

About 70 workers at the Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) Coulport will now receive backdated pay for 2020 and 2021.

Unite said it was a "substantial victory".

Coulport is a storage and maintenance facility for Trident nuclear warheads.

Those involved in the strikes were employed by AWE plc, Babcock Marine (Clyde) Ltd, and Lockheed Martin UK Strategic Systems Ltd.

The ABL Alliance pay deal will include a £600 payment for 2020 along with a 3.5% pay increase effective from 1 August 2021. The award for 2021 represents an increase of between £908-£1,097 dependent upon the specific role of the workers.

'Dragged on'

Sharon Graham, Unite's general secretary, said: "This is a substantial victory for Unite members at RNAD Coulport. It shows that when union members organise together and defend their jobs, pay and conditions, it is entirely possible to get intransigent employers to think again.

"Unite's pay demands have now been met which will mean that our members will get backdated pay in their pockets of up to £1,700."

Stevie Deans, Unite's regional co-ordinator, added: "The dispute with the ABL Alliance employers has dragged on far longer than it needed to. This could have been resolved last autumn if there was a willingness by the employers to get this over the line.

"We hope that this pay deal will set the right tone for this year's negotiations and the deal is a great example of workers standing up for what they deserve with their union's support."