The company said last week that it was consulting with its workforce as a number of contracts entered their latter stages and that an unspecified number of jobs were at risk. Tony McDonough reports

Workers at Birkenhead shipyard and engineering firm Cammell Laird have agreed to ballot for strike action over possible jobs losses.

The company said last week that it was consulting with its workforce as a number of contracts entered their latter stages and that an unspecified number of jobs were at risk.

The announcement came just days after it announced it had won two 10-year contacts to maintain nine Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels worth more than £600m.

However, on Monday the Unite union claimed up to 290 jobs were at risk – 40% of the total workforce – and also said there was a plan to “casualise” the workforce at the famous shipyard.

Union delegation

At a mass meeting Unite member voted in favour of holding a ballot for industrial action. A union delegation will head to the House of Commons on Tuesday to get the backing of MPs for their campaign to save jobs at Cammell Laird.

Unite regional officer Ross Quinn said: “There is real anger among the workforce who should be celebrating and looking forward to a secure future after winning a massive contract to maintain ships for the Royal Navy.

“Instead workers feel totally sold down the river by Cammell Laird bosses and fear being put out of a job to be replaced by agency labour at a later date.

“Since the last round of job cuts over two years ago we have seen more and more agency workers on ‘flexible’ contracts brought in to work on the likes of the RSS Sir Richard Attenborough.”

Contracting business

Last week Cammell Laird said: “Cammell Laird is principally a marine and engineering contracting business. This means we can have peaks in demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour, which is the nature of contract based industries.

“Contracting is our business model and that has enabled us to invest in our workforce infrastructure and apprentices to date, and will do so in the future.

“However, as a result of numerous contracts entering the latter phases, and without certainty in the award of similar contracts in the immediate term, the company needs to address its cost base to remain competitive. Consequently there are jobs at risk.”

Cammell Laird told the BBC on Monday that it was looking to secure new contracts to minimise any job losses, but insisted that it had to “address its cost base to remain competitive”.

But Mr Quinn added: “Cammell Laird bosses need to wake up to the depth of anger and come clean on the business case for job cuts which will see the loss of vital skills for a generation.”