Around 500 workers out of a total workforce of 1,200 at the Birkenhead shipyard and engineering firm staged two 24-hour workouts in late January in the dispute which had dragged on for months. Tony McDonough reports

Cammell Laird has struck a deal with union leaders to avert further strikes at the Birkenhead shipyard and engineering firm.

Around 500 workers out of a total workforce of 1,200 staged two 24-hour workouts in late January in an ongoing dispute over pay and conditions, following months of negotiations.

Now the company has reached an agreement with both the Unite and GMB unions which it hopes will draw a line under the disagreement and support the “upward growth trajectory’ of Cammell Laird.

Union members returned a vote by a consultative ballot to support the new agreement. The multi-year deal is a retrospective settlement to July 6, 2017, and incorporates improvements to pay and amends contractual elements. The two-term deal has been facilitated by ACAS and the first term runs for a three-year period while the second follows sequentially for a two-year period.

Cammell Laird chief executive John Syvret said the agreement sent a “powerful message to the global marketplace”.

He added: “This means we can now focus all our efforts on driving the upward trajectory of the company, delivering existing contracts and positioning Cammell Laird to win new long-term contracts.

“We now have good visibility of our cost base and can aggressively pursue important commercial and UK Ministry of Defence contracts.”

The company is active on a number of fronts. Last week it secured a £10m to build a new Isle of Wight ferry and it is also bidding to build the Royal Navy’s new £1.25bn fleet of frigates and is looking for a slice of the £16bn Heathrow third runway project.

Albie McGuigan of the GMB union said although negotiations were protracted and difficult at times the union is happy that the dispute has now ended.

He added: “We believe that this agreement, achieved with ACAS assistance, has been made with a mutual understanding of the needs and aspirations of our members and the long-term ambition of the company.

“We hope that Cammell Laird can now concentrate on future contract bids and build upon their recent success by winning further orders in both the private commercial and UK Ministry of Defence sectors.”