Unite the union members at Fawley Refinery near Southampton held a pay protest on 10 March. Contractors are balloting for strike action in rejection of a 2.5% pay insult from Exxon, which made $17 billion profit in 2021.
A ballot of 100 workers, around one-third of all contractors on the site, started on 21 February, with strike action set to begin in April. As some of the workers provide safety-critical services, strike action could lead to a shutdown of the entire plant.
The workers are employed by three contractors on the Fawley site – Trant Engineering Limited, Veolia Services and Altrad Services – and Unite is pressing for a one-year deal that is in line with inflation.
