More than 150 workers at the SeAH Wind monopile manufacturing facility in Teesside, northeast England, have begun strike action after rejecting a pay and conditions offer, the GMB Union said on Monday.
The industrial action is scheduled to begin immediately and will continue every Wednesday for six weeks. In addition to the weekly walkouts, workers will implement a continuous overtime ban following the collapse of talks with government conciliation service Acas earlier this week.
According to the GMB Union, staff turned down a 3.1% pay increase and imposed shift allowances that the union described as “both below inflation and industry standards.”
“SeAH is starting to look like a perfect example of the reality gap between promises of well-paid jobs in renewables and the daily experience of workers who are key to the transition to green energy,” GMB organiser Andrew Blunt said in a statement. “These talented workers are being asked to work unsociable hours, sacrificing time away from families at weekends and nights, but without being paid the industry standard rate to do it.”
Blunt added: “SeAH has received around £900 million in public money – it should pay its workers properly.”
The union had warned last week that strike action would proceed unless a breakthrough was reached in negotiations regarding pay and shift arrangements. The dispute highlights growing concerns over employment standards in the emerging UK green manufacturing sector, particularly in areas receiving substantial public investment.
SeAH Wind, a subsidiary of South Korea’s SeAH Steel Holdings, is constructing a monopile factory at the Teesworks site intended to supply offshore wind infrastructure. The project has been positioned by the UK government as a key element in its strategy to support clean energy jobs and regional economic regeneration.
In a previous statement, a SeAH Wind spokesperson said: “SeAH Wind regrets that its latest offer, independently benchmarked and designed to be both fair and sustainable, has not been accepted by the GMB Union. We are particularly disappointed that the union has chosen not to initiate the dispute resolution procedure outlined in the collective agreement recently signed by both parties.”
The company has not issued further comment following the commencement of strike action.
