Edinburgh Leonardo workers go on strike after rejecting below-inflation pay offer
Workers at defence and aerospace manufacturer Leonardo’s Edinburgh factory walked out on strike today after rejecting the latest pay offer from the company.
Over 3,000 members of the Unite union who work for Leonardo across the country are taking part in the action, affecting plants in Yeovil, Basildon, Newcastle and Luton as well as Edinburgh.
Unite said the Edinburgh walk-out would bring the factory to a standstill.
The union said the 3.6 per cent offer from the company was below the Retail Price Index rate of inflation, currently running at 4.5 per cent, and would therefore have represented a real-terms pay cut for workers.
Members previously rejected a 3.2 per cent pay offer and strike action was scheduled for two days last week, but was then suspended so a ballot could take place on the revised offer.
However, that has now been rejected as well and strike action began today at all the company’s sites.
Strike action is due to continue at the Leonardo factories in Edinburgh and Basildon until November 25.
Unite said it was demanding the company returned to the negotiating table and made a further revised offer that would be acceptable to staff in the midst of the current cost-of-living crisis.
The union said Leonardo, one of the largest defence companies in the world, had had revenues of nearly 18 billion euros in 2024, and profits of over 1.5 billion euros.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Leonardo workers are highly skilled and work on critical defence and aerospace systems yet are being short-changed by a company making billions.
"Leonardo continues to try and penny-pinch rather than make a sensible offer workers can accept. Our members have the full support of Unite in their fight for decent pay.”
The union warned that if the company failed to make an improved offer then a further escalation in industrial action was likely.
Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys McCarthy said: “Leonardo will now see the anger of its workers on the picket line outside its factories. But this is a dispute entirely of its own making. The company needs to come back to the negotiating table with a proper offer our members can accept.”