Union members balloted on strike action over navy support contract

Prospect members working at Serco Marine are balloting on industrial action over a refusal of the company to involve members in the development of a new contract with MoD.

The contract is for afloat services mainly at Faslane, Portsmouth and Devonport, and includes all towage activities, bunkering and watering, tank cleaning, passenger services, trials work, munitions and nuclear safety activities for the Royal Navy.

Without the work Prospect members carry out the UKs Naval defence would be severely limited. Marine Services play a critical part in CASD and deployment of all Naval assets including submarines on a day-to-day basis 24/7 365 days a year.

The current contract is up for renewal but the MoD is refusing to pay the extra £250m required for a full service contract, opting instead for a reduced contract the details of which have yet to be decided.
Prospect members are being balloted on taking industrial action over the issue.

Sue Ferns, Senior Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, said:

“Our members don’t want to take industrial action but we need to be engaged on the new contract or there is a real danger that our fleet will not get the support it needs to function properly.

“We do not believe that the complexity of this contract has been taken into account by any party to the current decision process (Single Source Supplier).

“It is concerning that this Government is using the last Government’s discredited procurement method when it should be looking at the wider benefits of a contract and not just baseline notional cost.”