Siemens Gamesa workers in Hull call off strike after pay victory

Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa has avoided industrial action at its blade factory in Hull, England, after agreeing with unionists to hike wages for 2024 and 2025.

UK trade union Unite said on Monday it had called off the workers’ strike after securing a 4.5% wage increase for 2024 and 3.9% for 2025, which 93% of staff voted to accept.

“The deal was secured without the need for industrial action following constructive negotiations with the company,” Unite said in a statement.

About a month ago, around 300 workers at the Hull facility were balloted on whether take strike action over a 4.5% pay offer plus incentives. At the time, Unite argued that their wages had dropped by 11.9% in real terms since 2018 due to below-inflation pay increases and, as it said, “the suppression of wages through a performance based bonus scheme”.

The workers make 108-metre-long wind turbine blades by hand, the union says. Their strike could have disrupted the construction of the East Anglia 3 and Moray West offshore wind farms.

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