Britain risks facing blackouts as power station workers go on strike, union warns
Britain could face blackouts when power station workers go on strike, a union is warning.
Employees at Drax power station in North Yorks, which generates 7% of the UK’s electricity when running fully, will walk out over a bitter pay dispute.
Unite says the UK could face power cuts when they strike over the next two months after rejecting an 8% pay offer. It said this is a real-terms pay cut due to inflation.
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Drax insists it has “robust” contingency plans to continue generating electricity.
Shane Sweeting, Unite regional officer, said: “The strike action at Drax will inevitably cause considerable strain on the national grid but this dispute is completely of the company’s own making.”
(Image: Getty Images)
The union has accused the firm of making mammoth profits due to surging energy costs.
Unite boss Sharon Graham said: “This is a classic case of greed by a company which is already generating eye-watering profits. Drax is cynically seeking to boost its bonanza profits further by forcing workers to take a real-terms pay cut.”
But Drax says the “generous” deal is worth 10% as it includes backdated rises.
A spokesman added: “We have put forward a generous full and final pay settlement which rewards our valued colleagues with a significant pay rise worth 10% and a £2,000 lump sum.”
(Image: AFP/Getty Images)
In other news, scientists want to put huge solar panels in space to supply energy to Earth.
They aim to create an out-of-this-world alternative power source in a bid to beat the global energy crisis.
Bosses at the UK Space Agency say they will put up an initial £500,000 of taxpayers’ cash to build prototypes for the project.
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