Sellafield firefighters to walk out over emergency incident pay

Firefighters will go on strike at Sellafield, the largest inventory of untreated nuclear waste in the world.

About 70 workers will walk out for two 12-and-a-half hour periods on 17 and 19 October as part of an ongoing dispute with management at the Cumbria site, nuclear worker union GMB said.  

The industrial action follows other strikes at Sellafield, home to more than 200 nuclear facilities over 6km². Some 4,200 members of GMB and Unite took part in a 24-hour strike last week in a long-running dispute over pay.

Fire crews – responsible for protecting more than 10,000 workers and surrounding communities in the event of a serious incident, including paramedic work – were previously due to strike on 24 July, but the action was called off after what GMB called “last ditch” talks. Now, they are preparing to walk out in the dispute over pay for work in so-called “warm zones,” areas hit by a major emergency such as a terrorist attack.

“Feedback from GMB members is that they want to do the work necessary to make the Sellafield site safe if difficult things happen,” said senior organiser Chris Jukes. “We live in very uncertain times and the firefighters’ priority is to protect the community and the public at large.”

Management made an offer of additional allowance for the firefighters’ extra work, said a spokeswoman for Sellafield Ltd, which is owned by the government’s Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. However, GMB said the offer was too low.

“We agreed to work with the GMB and the firefighters to assess the value of that allowance,” said the Sellafield Ltd spokeswoman. “We remain open to further discussions. Our focus is on putting in place arrangements to ensure the site remains safe and secure during any industrial action.”

Professional Engineering contacted Sellafield Ltd for more information on the additional allowance offered and safety arrangements during the strikes. The story will be updated if there is a response.