SOMERSET-BASED workers at a leading defence and aerospace company are set to go on strike for days over a dispute in pay.
Unite says more than 3000 workers at Leonardo UK’s facilities in Scotland and England will walk out after the company refused to improve its pay offer. This includes workers in Yeovil, Somerset.
The company is involved in a number of defence projects, with its site in Edinburgh producing advanced radars for military aircraft.
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Strikes will take place at the Leonardo factory in Yeovil, Somerset, on November 5-6 and 12-13.
Employees at factories in Luton and Basildon will also strike on these same dates, with workers at Leonardo’s Edinburgh and Newcastle sites striking between November 5 and 6, then again between November 10 and 18.
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 has had ample opportunity to do the right thing and make a decent offer that our members could have accepted.
"Instead, they have refused and will now see the anger of our members on the picket line outside their factories. This is a dispute entirely of their making and our members will have the full support of Unite in their fight for decent pay.”
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.
A Leonardo spokesperson said: “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%."
In 2024, Leonardo had revenues of nearly 18 billion euros and profits of over 1.5 billion euros.
Unite national officer for aerospace, Rhys McCarthy added: “Leonardo make literally billions in profits but are trying to short-change our members whose skills and expertise they rely on.
"This simply isn’t acceptable and they will be making their voices heard next month when taking strike action that will see Leonardo’s factories grind to a halt. They need to come back to the negotiating table with an improved offer.”
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