Union dismay at nuclear group HQ closure

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Union dismay at nuclear group HQ closure

Prospect, the lead trade union in the nuclear industry, is outraged by today’s (Friday) announcement by the British Nuclear Group to bring forward the closure of their Berkeley Centre Reactor Sites headquarters in Gloucestershire.



Prospect has been working with the employer, formally known as BNFL, to effectively manage the rundown of the site over a period of time, without compulsory redundancies or disruption. Today’s revised business plan proposes accelerating this process and raises the threat of compulsory job losses. The decision will affect around 1,600 staff employed at the centre.

Prospect negotiator Mike Graham, who represents the majority of staff affected by the decision, said: "This is a major blow, not only to the Gloucestershire economy but to the nuclear industry as a whole. We cannot afford for these highly skilled people to be lost to the industry at the very time when we are working with the government and employers to maintain such a vital skill base."

He added: "Today’s announcement represents an about turn by the British Nuclear Group, driven by recent changes in government funding policies that were announced in the Treasury Spending Review. The expertise that will be lost through these proposals will need to be replaced again at local site level, with knock-on costs involved, as the reactor sites move through the defuelling and decommissioning processes.

"We are in urgent talks with the employer, will be raising the issue with ministers and cannot rule out industrial action ballots across the business in the event of compulsory job losses."