Sellafield firefighters postpone strike action

The firefighters had planned to strike for 24 hours on Monday 24 July and again on Monday 31 July because of a dispute about pay.

However, following renewed talks on 20 July, the GMB union, which represents the firefighters, said “a significantly improved offer” had been tabled. 

A statement from Sellafield said the talks were positive, adding that “significant progress towards finding a resolution” had been made.

On Tuesday (18 July) Sellafield management and GMB clashed over the issue of safety at the site and the hiring of private firm Securitas to provide cover.

GMB insisted firefighters were committed to ensuring safety and would respond if there were a major incident at the site, but Sellafield said GMB had failed to formally guarantee that minimum fire safety levels would be maintained during the industrial action. 

GMB said it would now ballot its members on the new deal.