Defence staff in 10-day pay strike

DEFENCE workers are to launch a pre-Christmas 10-day strike in a long-running dispute over pay.

UK Minister of Defence Michael Fallon speaking in Bahrain. Picture: AP

Members of Unite at the Defence Support Group (DSG) will walk out from today in protest at a 1% pay offer.

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The latest action at the group, which maintains, repairs and overhauls military equipment for the Ministry of Defence, follows six days of strike action in recent weeks.

The main sites affected are at Bovington (Dorset), Catterick (North Yorkshire), Colchester, Donnington (Shropshire), Stirling, Sealand (North Wales) and Warminster (Wiltshire).

Mike McCartney, Unite national officer, said: “As the DSG is fattened up to be privatised, workers who support our armed forces have had pay cuts in real terms of nearly 18%.

“The DSG is a cash-rich organisation which can well afford a decent pay rise. Management should be under no illusion about the resolve of our members as this latest action, which is the longest in the group’s history, demonstrates.

“Any backlogs in repairs and maintenance of key military equipment sit squarely with DSG management who need to get back around the negotiating table to hammer out a fair pay deal.”

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