Workers at defence and aerospace firm Leonardo are being balloted for strike action after rejecting a 3.2% pay offer, Unite has announced.
Nearly 3,000 staff at sites in Newcastle, Yeovil, Edinburgh, Luton and Basildon could walk out. The union said a successful ballot would see workers on picket lines and factories shut down.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said highly skilled members working on critical defence systems were being "short-changed by a company making billions", adding that Leonardo needed to return to negotiations with an improved offer.
Unite said Leonardo generated revenues of nearly €18 billion and profits of over €1.5 billion last year. National officer Rhys McCarthy said it was unacceptable for the company, which benefits from UK government contracts, to make a poor pay offer to a valuable workforce.
The ballot runs until early October.
Leonardo responded that its employees are the driving force behind its innovation and that the two-year pay deal is fair and competitive, with a package of fixed and variable pay potentially worth 9.2%.
