Contractors who maintain British Army's Challenger Tanks considering strike action
A spokesperson said: “Having entered into the early stages of pay negotiations with Unite, Babcock remains committed to constructive dialogue.”
Contractors who maintain British Army vehicles including Challenger Tanks at Catterick and other bases could go on strike over pay.
Some 1,400 workers are employed by Babcock Defence Support Group, a private defence firm, under an engineering and maintenance contract for the Armed Forces.
Their union Unite has said they are considering strike action following a “derisory pay offer”.
It said that union members had rejected a pay increase, which is worth 2.2 per cent per worker.
That is below the latest consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation for 3.3 per cent in March.
Unite described the offer as a “substantial real terms pay cut as the RPI (retail price index) inflation rate is 4.1 per cent and is set to rise further”.
United general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Babcock has been caught red handed trying to fob our members off with a derisory pay offer. In reality this is a large real-terms pay cut.
“This is a very wealthy company which can fully afford to pay its workers a decent pay increase but is choosing not to out of sheer greed.”
The workers are based at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire, the UK’s largest army base, as well as Ashchurch, Bovington and Warminster.
Their primary role is in keeping the British Army transport fleet, including Challenger tanks, operational and battle ready.
They also undertake maintenance of weaponry and can be deployed overseas on various projects.
British troops are currently being deployed to the Arctic High North, Nato bases in eastern Europe and Cyprus to combat conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
Having rejected Babcock’s pay offer, Unite said the workers are now considering balloting for industrial action if the company does not return to the negotiating table with an improved offer.
A Babcock spokesperson said: “Having entered into the early stages of pay negotiations with Unite, Babcock remains committed to constructive dialogue, aiming to reach an outcome that supports our people and the effective delivery of our customer’s contract.”