Construction workers at Sellafield nuclear plant to go on strike over health and safety issues

Fully automated time and attendance systems can help alert managers when staffing levels are expected to go under a pre-set level – for example, when workers decide to go on strike. And that’s exactly what might happen on the site of the Sellafield nuclear plant, where workers are to stage a wave of industrial actions over a health and safety dispute.

Workers involved in the decommissioning and renewal project at the site are angry at the refusal by Sellafield and the sub-contractor team to facilitate a full-time union convenor on the site. As a result, members of various unions who are currently working on the site will be imposing an overtime ban and working to rule from 27 August.

Workers at all the companies, except for Balfour Beatty will be striking between 5:30am and 8am on 1, 9 and 16 September followed by a 24-hour stoppage starting after midnight on 23 September.

Unite regional secretary for the north west Mick Whitley said: "The bully boy tactics by the sub-contractors are still continuing as our members raise legitimate concerns about health and safety.

"The shop stewards have agreed a future programme of industrial action in response to the intransigence of the various employers.

"Unite has repeatedly called for meaningful talks, but they have been rebuffed at every stage, and our members have no alternative but to take industrial action, including a day’s strike on 23 September."

Determining exactly which employees went on strike and just how much of their pay is due to be retained is not always an easy task for HR departments, but Time and Attendance UK can actually make everything a lot smoother.

First and foremost, our comprehensive, affordable Time and Attendance solution allows HR managers to generate a range of useful reports, such as Absence Summary or Job Summary, that will provide precise information on the people who actually participated to the strike and didn’t attend their usual work schedule.

Furthermore, our all-in-one, Smart Card Time & Attendance recording workstation incorporates such features as job booking, job costing, labour hours analysis and security management.

If you want to find out more about the range of affordable, reliable solutions provided by Time & Attendance UK, just contact our dedicated product team, they’ll be more than happy to answer any question you might have.