Sellafield nuclear plant staff vote to strike

Workers at British Nuclear Fuels at Sellafield in northern England have voted to strike in a dispute over pay.

It will lead to the first strike in the nuclear industry for 30 years.

The dispute goes back to 1999 and involves equalising pay concerning different grades of staff.

The workers claimed they were promised that a gap of £2,000 between industrial workers and staff would be closed by next April. Unions have accused the company of reneging on the agreement.

The plant, which used to be called Windscale, was opened in 1947 and is responsible for reprocessing spent fuels from UK nuclear power stations. The site employs around 10,000 workers, although only a quarter are involved in the dispute.