Growing unrest

The prospect of industrial unrest at the Dounreay nuclear decommissioning site in Caithness is growing after DSRL, the company which employs most of the staff on site, indicated it was not prepared to increase its 1 per cent pay offer to staff.

This was despite a ballot, which attracted a high turnout, indicating an overwhelming rejection by union members.

DSRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of its parent body organisation (PBO), Cavendish Dounreay Partnership, a consortium which makes significant profit out of its operations at Dounreay.  These profits have significantly increased year on year since it took over ownership of DSRL. In 2015, the last year for which accounts are available, the PBO increased its profit to over £9m pounds.

Despite this increasing profit margin DSRL staff have been offered a below inflation 1 per cent increase, effectively meaning that staff will see their pay reduce, despite the PBO seeing record profit levels.

The trade unions involved, including Unite, Prospect, and the GMB note that it is members who have created this profit for the PBO, and so it is only fair and proper that the PBO and DSRL recognise this with a decent pay award.

Unite regional officer Ian Ewing said, “Our members at Dounreay have worked very hard to move the decommissioning project forward, yet all they have seen are attacks on their pensions, conditions and now their pay; it is simply unacceptable.

“The impact of suppressing wages for the hundreds of staff employed by DSRL will not just impact those at the site but will feed through to businesses across Caithness and Sutherland as our members have less money to spend,” he added.

Prospect negotiator Richard Hardy argued that “money that is being created in Caithness is being counted in California and Colorado.

“Our members are working hard to decommission the site, yet much of the money this generates is flowing out of Caithness and Sutherland, reducing the economic benefit for the local community,” he noted. “Everybody should get a share of the profits, not just the shareholders.”