Staff at helicopter manufacturer set to strike

Members of staff at one of the world's biggest defence firms are set to strike.

Leonardo, which runs the UK's only helicopter factory in Somerset, is facing 3,000 members of the union Unite walking out across five of its sites in November.

The company offered staff a two-year rise of 3.2% at the start of October, describing this as "fair", but members of Unite are demanding the company returns to the negotiating table to make an improved pay offer.

Staff will strike at Leonardo sites in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Yeovil, Luton and Basildon.

Headquartered in Italy, Leonardo manufactures defence industry equipment including helicopters, aerospace parts, electronics and cybersecurity technology.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said members were being "short-changed" by the company.

"Leonardo has had ample opportunity to do the right thing and make a decent offer that our members could have accepted.

"Instead they have refused and will now see the anger of our members on the picket line outside their factories," she said.

Strikes will take place between 5-6 and 12-13 November at factories in Yeovil, Luton and Basildon.

In Edinburgh and Newcastle, industrial action is expected to take place between 5-6 and 10-18 November.

Leonardo has been approached for comment.