Around 3,000 people work at Leonardo in the UK, including at Yeovil. Picture: Google

Thousands of Leonardo workers in Yeovil could go on strike over pay

Paul JonesOctober 9, 20251 Comment0

THOUSANDS of workers at the Leonardo site in Yeovil could go on strike after turning down the company’s latest pay offer.

Unite the Union said almost 3,000 members are demanding the aerospace and defence firm returns to negotiations after the company refused to improve its pay offer.

The union said staff voted “overwhelmingly” for strike action, which will take place later this autumn unless Leonardo meets their demands.

Leonardo said it ‘stood by’ an offer totalling some 9.2% over two years, it would “continue to engage in open dialogue with Unite to find a constructive path forward”.

Unite general secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “Our members are highly skilled and work on critical defence and aerospace systems yet are being short-changed by a company making billions.

“Leonardo needs to do the right thing, return to the negotiating table and make an improved offer our members can accept. Otherwise they will see their workers on the picket line and their factories shutdown.”

Workers at sites in Yeovil, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Luton and Basildon were balloted for industrial action after rejecting a pay offer of 3.2 per cent from the employer, which they branded a ‘real-terms pay cut’, with all four sites voting in favour of taking strike action.

Leonardo is a world-leading manufacturer of defence industry equipment including helicopters, aircraft, aerospace parts, electronics and cybersecurity.

Headquartered in Italy, it is one of the largest defence companies in the world, and a major employer in Somerset, with around 3,000 workers in Yeovil.

Unite regional officer, Carrie Binnie, said: “This strike is entirely the making of Leonardo and its refusal to improve its pay offer. And it can fix it with the stroke of a pen.

“Unite remains ready to return to negotiations but only if Leonardo management are prepared to come up with an offer worth listening to.

“Our members will not accept a real-terms pay cut for their hard work and loyalty.”

The union said if Leonardo does not negotiate, it would serve notice for strike action to begin later this autumn.

A spokesperson for the firm said it was ‘continuing to engage’ with workers over a deal.

“Our focus remains on offering a fair and competitive package to our employees and the proposed pay deal has the potential to pay employees 9.2% over the course of the two year pay deal, representing a package of fixed and variable pay,” they added.

“We regularly benchmark our pay and benefits against industry standards to ensure they are appropriate.

“While we stand by the competitiveness of our current offer, we continue to engage in open dialogue with Unite to find a constructive path forward.”