BAE staff vote for pay cut to avoid redundancy

Members of staff at BAE Systems have voted to take a pay cut in order to prevent the need for employees to face redundancy at the company.

A ballot was held among 2,000 shop floor workers from the sites at Warton and Samlesbury and a vast majority voted to see their salaries reduced by 111 hours a year. The vote, which took place at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool today (March 12th), means 150 members of staff will not be facing redundancy as expected, reports the Lancashire Evening Post. Phil Entwistle, convenor for the Unite union representing manual workers at the Lancashire sites, said it was a “difficult” decision for the employees to make, adding: “They have mortgages to pay and have to put food on their tables, but ultimately one day a month (unpaid leave) is a small sacrifice to keep a highly-skilled job.”

BAE previously revealed it was looking to cut up to 3,000 jobs in a bid to remain competitive.