UK’s Drax Hydro workers to go on strike over pay

LONDON (Reuters) -Workers at Drax Hydro Limited which operates power stations across Scotland have voted to go on strike in a dispute over pay, the Unite union said on Thursday.

The strike action days are expected to take place from mid-March with Unite making an official announcement next week.

Drax Hydro is a part of Drax Group Plc which on Thursday posted an annual profit of 731 million pounds ($880 million), higher than expectations.

“Drax Hydro is a profitable energy company and it can afford to pay its workforce significantly more than the current offer,” said Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.

“This is a classic case of corporate greed and now the UK faces a threat of power cuts due to Drax’s greed.” 

A Drax spokesperson said in the event of industrial action, there will be no risk to public electricity supplies.

“We have put forward a generous full and final pay settlement which rewards our valued colleagues with a significant pay rise worth 10%… Drax remains open to dialogue with Unite to avoid industrial action,” the spokesperson added.

Drax provides around 7% of Britain’s electricity through its network of power stations.

Workers across a range of sectors in Britain have gone on strike in recent months, from rail workers to teachers, nurses to lawyers, as inflation, which hit a record high last year, squeezes household budgets.

($1 = 0.8308 pounds)

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Jason Neely and Elaine Hardcastle)

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