Appledore shipyard workers end dispute

Workers at Appledore shipyard have accepted an offer from Babcock Marine management, ending the industrial action they have participated in. Among other grievances, the strike action was concerned with pay, which was £60-80 less per week than Devonport workers in the same company doing equivalent jobs.

The deal sees a 12% wage increase over two years, and the majority of other demands put forward by the unions (GMB and Unite) accepted by management.

Throughout the dispute, Babcock Marine had attempted to bully and threaten the workforce into submission, with threats of closure and downsizing. An annoucement of job cuts at the company's Devonport operation was made, and middle managers were threatened with the sack if they joined in the action. Unfortunately for Babcock, the news of their record profits had to be released at this important time also!

Despite all that the company threw at the workers, they held firm, with large numbers on picket lines and 100% of engineering staff out. Although they did not achieve parity with their Plymouth counterparts, they did achieve a significant above inflation pay increase at a time of insecurity and increasing redundancies and hours cuts. They showed that unity in action, even in the current climate, will get results, even with only a few days strike action. Both unions on site worked together, and they received the support and solidarity of their fellow workers at other shipyards, through the Confederation of Ship Building and Engineering Unions (CSEU), as well as North Devon Socialist Party.

Appledore strike update

Industrial action at Appledore shipyard is currently suspended pending negotiations currently taking place between the unions and Babcock Marine.

The suspension has come at the same time as an announcement by the company of record profits of £50 million in the first half of the year, up 30%! This is the same company that continues to make threats of closure and losing contracts in response to the reasonable request by Appledore workers that they earn the same as other Babcock workers in equivalent jobs. At the moment, they earn around £60-80 per week less than their counterparts at Devonport dockyard. They tried to claim that this was due to the higher cost of living in Plymouth, something easily contradicted by a worker who had previously lived in Plymouth!

In reality, they have tried to take advantage of the fact that North Devon is a low wage area. They, and the company that preceded them, have made no investment at the site, the consequence of which is that a site previously used as a model for overseas fact finders now has grass growing all over the roof. In addition to the pay insult, picketers have been unhappy about a number of issues at the site. There is widespread bullying by management (including threatening middle managers with the sack if they went on strike), and unilateral decisions taken, such as to change shifts and deploy workers to other sites. The petty attitude of management is exemplified by a previous round of negotiations, in Hatherleigh, when in response to an unofficial overtime ban, managers refused to meet with and speak to shop stewards situated in another room. The union officials had to act as messengers and go-betweens!

In response to our comments on the picket line that the workers themselves should run the shipyard, pickets gave examples of management incompetance and short-term thinking. For instance, apprentices were not allowed to go on day release to college, the skills base is kept narrow, and civilian contracts have been turned down.

It is clear that private ownership cannot develop and safeguard the future of the shipyard in Appledore. We renew our call for the nationalisation of the yard and for its placement under democratic workers control.

We also reaffirm our complete support and solidarity for this action, which has remained solid, with as many as 50 on the picket line at times. Unanimous support has also come from the Confederation of Ship Building and Engineering Unions (CSEU).

We would like to make a solidarity appeal, for support and donations to the Appledore shipyard workers. If you would to express your support or to make a donation to the strike fund, please email North Devon Socialist Party at socialistpartydevon@gmail.com and we will give you the details of how to help, and pass on your messages.

Support the Appledore shipyard workers

On Friday, workers at Appledore shipyard took part in the first of six days of strike action, which will continue tomorrow and every Friday and Monday after that up until the 17th November.

Every worker involved in shipbuilding was out, reflecting the anger at their treatment by owners Babcock Marine, and the strong union presence at the yard. Babcock Marine, who also own Devonport Dockyard, pay the workers much less at Appledore, and also do not provide them with a pensions representative or workplace nurse.

Wages in North Devon are lower than the average for Devon and nationally, and it seems Babcock Marine have been taking advantage of this to exploit the Appledore workers for years. Extensive negotiations by the GMB and Unite representatives brought no significant concessions from Babcock Marine, and there has been no comment from the company on the strike action. However, Appledore workers are not known to shirk from a fight - the shipyard has been constantly threatened over the past thirty years, being nationalised by the then Industry Minister Tony Benn in the 1970s, and being taken over by the workers in 2003 when it was temporarily closed by the then owners.

Babcock Marine have threatened workers with closure in response to the strike action, even though they only ask to be paid at the same rate as their counterparts in Plymouth.

North Devon Socialist Party has expressed its support and solidarity for the industrial action, and also point out that the best way to safeguard the future of the shipyard for the workers and their families is to nationalise the yard and place it under the control of the workers. They can develop a plan of production to meet the needs of producing ships for civilian use as well as safeguard their own livelihoods, as part of a democratically planned economy locally, nationally and internationally.