Cammell Laird workers begin ballot action over proposed job cuts

Cammell Laid workers will start balloting for possible strike action today in a protest over job cuts at the Birkenhead shipyard.

Bosses at the yard announced 291 job losses in early October – almost 40% of the workforce – just four days after confirming two contracts over 10 years to maintain Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) ships, worth £619m.

More than 200 members of the union Unite at the yard will start balloting today and the ballot will close on Friday, November 9.

The firm said it wants to complete the job cuts by March, next year.

Unite said it fears that the company wants to casualise the workforce, which, it says, will lead to shipbuilding skills being lost for a generation as full-time jobs are replaced by agency labour.

Unite the Union regional officer, Ross Quinn, said: “We had a meeting with the management yesterday (Thursday 25 October) and the outcome was that we are more convinced than ever that there is no reason to make compulsory redundancies.

“This is why our members will begin to receive ballot papers on Monday asking them if they want to take industrial action, including the option of strikes, to defend their jobs.

“The mid-to-long term future of this shipyard is bright, managers have told us by the end of 2019 they will be in the strongest position since the yard re-opened in 2001, as they will have 10–15 years of work on the horizon.

“We believe that the announcement of the Mersey ferry building contract is imminent.

“Should this be awarded to Cammell Laird, this would secure more jobs.

“We understand that there are other contracts in the offing that could also boost the future employment prospects at Cammell Laird even further.

“We believe that these planned job losses are unnecessary and a slap in the face for a dedicated workforce.”

He added: “We call on all those stakeholders involved to come together to bring work forward.

“We won’t accept our members’ jobs being sacrificed as the easy solution to a short term problem that has been magnified by management for its own cost-cutting ends.”

A spokesman for Cammell Laird said: “Cammell Laird is principally a marine and engineering contracting business.

“This means we can have peaks in demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour, which is the nature of contract based industries.

“Contracting is our business model and that has enabled us to invest in our workforce infrastructure and apprentices to date, and will do so in the future.

“However, as a result of numerous contracts entering the latter phases, and without certainty in the award of similar contracts in the immediate term, the company needs to address its cost base to remain competitive. Consequently there are jobs at risk.

“We continue to bid for numerous contracts around the world and we remain very optimistic for future growth.”