Fresh Babcock strikes at RAF Leeming

Strike action by Babcock Aerospace workers at RAF Leeming, near Northallerton in North Yorkshire, over a £5,000 pay disparity will continue until the end of February, Unite said today (January 28).

Around 50 Babcock workers, who provide operational and engineering services for aircraft at RAF Leeming, including the Hawk trainer aircraft, last week began three weeks of discontinuous strike action as well as a continuous overtime ban.

Unite said of the fresh wave of strike action: “the disruption to training flight schedules will continue until the end of February”. The workers will be holding socially distanced picket lines outside the main entrance to RAF Leeming during the strikes.

The Unite members voted in favour of strike action after being refused shift pay, even though their colleagues at RAF Valley in Wales receive it for performing the same duties. The difference in take home wages between those who receive shift pay and those who do not amounts to around £5,000 a year.

Unite regional officer Neil Howells said, “Babcock needs to understand that this issue isn’t going away. Our members, many of who served in the armed forces, are fed up to the back teeth of being treated like second-class employees. It is unacceptable that Babcock staff at RAF Leeming are paid up to £5,000 pound a year less than colleagues at RAF Valley, despite performing the same safety critical duties for the air force.

“Our members are very proud of the work they do at RAF Leeming and the last thing they want to do is go on the strike,” he added. “But they are determined to stay the course until Babcock rights this wrong. Unfortunately, Babcock’s refusal to meaningfully engage over this issue mean the strikes, and the disruption to training flight schedules, will continue until the end of February.

“The Ministry of Defence and the RAF will not be happy that Babcock is causing disruption to RAF Leeming because of its refusal to pay the workforce fairly. Unite urges the MoD to pressure Babcock to return to negotiations with the union and table an offer our members can accept. Unite is more than willing to sit down with Babcock and find a resolution so that further strikes can be avoided.”

By Ryan Fletcher