Unions launch ‘What A Waste’ campaign to stop job cuts in nuclear decommissioning

A campaign calling on the government to support workers in nuclear decommissioning has been launched by Prospect, GMB and Unite, who are the joint unions at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

Ahead of the Budget on November 26, the ‘What A Waste’ Campaign is calling for “an urgent short-term top-up to the NDA budget to protect jobs, while there is a more comprehensive assessment of the funding model for the NDA.”

Workers in nuclear decommissioning are being asked to write to their MPs, using Prospect’s template letter, making the case for the vital work of the NDA and the need to make sure it is funded adequately.

The necessity and urgency of the campaign has been sparked by the revelation that the NDA is offering voluntary exit schemes to staff.

The template letter to MPs says:

“These job losses will cause substantial damage to local communities who can least afford it. For many areas where legacy sites are based, nuclear decommissioning is a vital source of employment, and the prospect of new nuclear (on fully decommissioned sites) is the key to economic renewal. Cutting jobs and mothballing projects puts both of these things at risk.

“The approach being taken will also end up costing the government far more in the long term. It will spend money on voluntary exit payments to shrink the workforce today, it will spend even more money on rebuilding the workforce tomorrow, and, in the meantime, it will continue to pay hundreds of millions of pounds each year just to keep legacy sites safe.”

The letter is also an invitation for MPs to meet with union reps who will be visiting Parliament on Tuesday, 21 October.

Support the campaign by sending our letter to your MP here >>>

The campaign is focussing on government funding because the NDA’s senior leadership has consistently failed to make the case to government themselves, despite the unions imploring them to do so.

For example, there have been repeated requests from unions over the years for joint action to free all NDA group companies from the constraints of the public sector pay remit. However, the NDA has declined to do so.

The unions argue that without increased funding and better pay for staff, the NDA will find it difficult to sustain their current skills base.