Workers at the Sellafield complex in Cumbria are to go on strike following the sacking on a union shop steward.

Staff employed by DSD Construction will begin three separate periods of industrial action later this month in response to the firm's sacking of Unite's shop steward, James Bainbridge, 26 days after being elected to the post.

The union said within a day of being elected, Mr Bainbridge was instructed by DSD to relocate to the Carlisle depot, 40 miles away from the rest of the workforce.

Mr Bainbridge was reinstated to the Sellafield site after Unite intervened and following a members meeting, he submitted a written grievance on their behalf to management which concerned; working in the rain, the supply of inadequate and substandard personal protective equipment (PPE) and uniforms, as well as making weekend work available to all workers.

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However, Unite said Mr Bainbridge was again relocated and meetings to resolve the situation were continually cancelled without good reason. Following a meeting on 22 November, Mr Bainbridge was sacked, with the union claiming the company did not adhere to any form of disciplinary procedure.

The Carlisle-based company are currently undertaking work to improve security at the nuclear reprocessing site.

Unite regional officer Ryan Armstrong said: "Unite will not allow a shop steward to be treated in this way, simply for undertaking his normal trade union role.

"This strike action, which is entirely of DSD's making, is set to cause widespread disruption throughout the entire Sellafield complex.

"If DSD wants to avoid these strikes and the disruption it will cause, then the company needs to immediately reinstate our shop steward and address the genuine concerns of our members."

The dates and times of each strike period are as follows;

• First strike beginning at 00:01 on Tuesday 23 January 2018, ending at 07:00 on Wednesday 24 January.

• 00:01 on Thursday, 01 February ending at 7am on Friday, 02 February.

• 00:01 Wednesday, 07 February ending at 7am on Thursday, 08 February.

(LM)