THOUSANDS of workers at Leonardo sites across the UK, including Somerset, could strike over 'poor pay'.
Nearly three thousand workers at the leading defence and aerospace company, Leonardo, could walk out in a dispute over pay, the Unite union announced this week.
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Workers at sites in Yeovil, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Luton and Basildon are being balloted for industrial action after rejecting a pay offer of 3.2 per cent (a real terms pay cut) from the employer. A successful ballot will see workers head to the picket line and factories shut down.
Leonardo is a world-leading manufacturer of defence industry equipment, including helicopters, aircraft, aerospace parts, electronics and cybersecurity. Headquartered in Italy, it is one of the largest defence companies in the world.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Our members are highly skilled and work on critical defence and aerospace systems yet are being short-changed by a company making billions.
"Leonardo needs to do the right thing, come back to the negotiating table and make an improved offer our members can accept."
In 2024, Leonardo had revenues of nearly 18 billion euros and profits of over 1.5 billion euros, Unite reports.
Unite national officer for aerospace, Rhys McCarthy, added: "Leonardo is incredibly wealthy and makes billions from UK government contracts. It is entirely unacceptable that it sees fit to make a poor pay offer to a highly skilled and valuable workforce.
"Unite is making it clear that unless Leonardo quickly returns to the negotiating table with an improved offer, they will see the anger of their workforce on the picket line."
The ballot runs until early October.
In response to the potential strike action, a Leonardo spokesperson told the Somerset County Gazette: “Leonardo recognises that its employees are the driving force behind the Company’s technological innovation and as such, has made a fair and competitive offer to its Union members.
“The Company regularly benchmarks pay, incentives and benefits referencing various sources that support the UK employment market and the industrial sector.
"The two-year pay deal made to Union members is fair and competitive, representing a package of fixed and variable pay that has the potential to pay employees 9.2%.“
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