TRADE union members at Faslane and Coulport naval bases are to hold a ballot for industrial action in a dispute over pay and bargaining rights with their employer Babcock Marine.

Unite union said industrial action, which may include strikes, could affect HM Naval Base Clyde from mid-March if its members support the idea.

The union says three groups of workers are being balloted – Babcock industrial staff, including electricians, plumbers and joiners; Babcock non-industrial workers, including engineers, supervisors, managers and admin staff; and ISS Facility Services workers.

Unite says it has decided to hold the ballot after 99.7% of its membership at Faslane and Coulport rejected a Babcock pay offer and gave "overwhelming support" to a "single bargaining agreement" over what contracts might look like in years to come for civilian firms operating at the base under the Ministry of Defence's Future Maritime Support Programme.

The ballot on whether they should take industrial action opens on Thursday and closes on February 25.

The union said nearly all members (99.2%) who took part in a consultative ballot – on an 85% turnout – indicated they would be willing to take industrial action, up to and including a strike.

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Stephen Deans, Unite regional coordinating officer, said: “The industrial action ballots come after fruitless discussions with both Babcock Marine and ISS Facility Services at the Clyde naval bases. 

"Unite’s membership is rightly furious over the derisory pay offers and Babcock's rigid refusal to even discuss with us the workplace arrangements following the outcome of the Ministry of Defence’s Future Maritime Support Programme.

“We have major concerns that even if Babcock does win the contracts then there are plans to privatise and outsource more areas to companies at the naval bases. In the scenario that Babcock Marine doesn’t win all of the contracts it is competing for then our members and also the country face an even worse situation."

He continued: "What's on the immediate horizon is greater fragmentation and outsourcing at Coulport and Faslane, a race to the bottom for pay, terms and conditions. This is a situation we believe will ultimately impair and fracture the strength of our defence capabilities.

"It’s astonishing that Babcock Marine are refusing to agree to work with us regarding the future of the base following the contract decisions. Unite's sole objective is to bring this together in a coordinated way in the interests of the workforce and the country.

"If support for industrial action is forthcoming then this dispute, which will happen at a very sensitive juncture, is due to the company's intransigence, and we hope the public and the politicians understand this."

The contracts covering the naval bases are expected to be decided upon in April this year, and are anticipated to run from then until March 2026. It is estimated that the work from the FMSP will be worth between £175-£200 million for the Clyde bases.

The figure is based on the Ministry of Defence stating that the FMSP scheme is projected to deliver up to a 30% saving from the previous Maritime Support Delivery Framework, which had a five-year operating figure of £250m on the Clyde.

A Babcock Marine spokesperson told The National: "We were notified at the end of last week of Unite’s intention to ballot for industrial action. Having agreed a 2020 pay deal with part of our workforce, we are keen to keep engaging with Unite representatives to try and find a mutually acceptable resolution for their members.  

"On the matter of the Future Maritime Support Programme, we are currently engaged in a commercially confidential procurement process with the Ministry of Defence and are therefore unable to comment further."