Titanic shipyard staff to strike after being asked to work on Fridays

The embattled shipyard that built the Titanic is facing the threat of strikes over plans to force workers to come in on Fridays.

Members of the GMB union at Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard overwhelmingly voted for industrial action on Monday, amid a backlash against proposals to extend their working hours.

It is understood that managers are seeking to move away from a four-day week to a mandatory five-day one as the amount of work at the shipyard increases.

The Belfast yard is currently building a string of barges for London waste company Cory, repairing a floating oil production and storage vessel for Cenovus Energy, and overhauling a retirement cruise vessel as it prepares for a major £1.6bn contract to build a Royal Navy supply ship.

But the plan for longer hours has sparked outrage among workers, who currently receive overtime pay for working Fridays under arrangements secured by unions decades ago.

Their move to back industrial action, first reported by the Belfast Telegraph, means around 100 GMB members could now walk out with as little as two weeks’ notice.

They have also not ruled out other forms of industrial action such as “working to rule” or overtime bans.

The row threatens to plunge the company into even deeper turmoil at a time when there are already concerns about its future.

Harland & Wolff has been seeking a £200m loan guarantee from the Government, which bosses say is essential to its growth plans, but it emerged last month that approval has been hit by delays.

The hold-ups are due to legal concerns about whether the Government’s support will breach state aid rules, partly because of the company’s plan to launch a ferry service to the Isles of Scilly, The Telegraph previously revealed.

Neither the GMB or Harland & Wolff would comment on the industrial dispute, with bosses set to meet union representatives on Tuesday afternoon in an attempt to hammer out a compromise.

At the meeting, Harland & Wolff will offer to increase worker pay in exchange for the change to working hours, The Telegraph understands.

The GMB’s move to secure a mandate for industrial action, which was supported by 98.7pc of members who were balloted, is aimed at giving the union greater leverage as it goes into the discussions.

A spokesman for Harland & Wolff said on Tuesday: “Negotiations are ongoing and we do not comment on ongoing discussions.”