Strikes under way by civilian staff at Faslane and Coulport naval bases
Civilian staff at the Faslane and Coulport naval bases have started a series of strikes in a workers' rights dispute.
Civilian staff at the Faslane and Coulport naval bases have started a series of strikes in a workers' rights dispute.
Members of the Unite union - who work in roles involving radiation monitoring, weapons support, cleaning, logistics, maintenance and repairs - are taking action over what they claim is a "systematic campaign to undermine workers" by employer Babcock Marine.
Faslane is home to Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent and the Royal Navy's entire submarine fleet is to be based at the site from 2020.
A continuous overtime and on-call ban got under way at midnight on Friday and will affect all areas at the bases, including the nuclear operations department, the union said.
Unite members will also begin a series of staggered periods of strike action up to June 15.
The union says Babcock Marine is considering the outsourcing of services to private companies.
Babcock Marine said it "absolutely refutes" the allegations made against it.
Unite regional officer Stephen Deans said: "Our members have been forced into this action today.
"Management at Babcock Marine have engineered a complete breakdown of normal relations with workers.
"Our fear is that they want to try and undermine workers' rights so they can cut jobs and service quality through more outsourcing."
The union believes the action will cause major disruption to the day-to-day services provided by the firm, Mr Deans said.
Babcock Marine said in a statement: "Babcock is disappointed and perplexed by Unite's actions.
"Through the conciliation service Acas and ongoing direct discussions, Unite tabled a number of issues they wanted to discuss with us.
"We have accommodated these points, offering reasonable solutions to all of the issues. We are not clear, therefore, on the purpose of this strike action.
"We absolutely refute the allegations that we are attempting to undermine our relationship with the trade union and wider workforce, or that we are engaged in a wide-ranging plan to outsource services."
The firm said it is working with the 1,100 Babcock employees not involved in the industrial action to minimise any impact to operations and is committed to finding a "positive resolution" to the dispute.