MOD Donnington DSG staff are balloted for strike action

Nationally, more than 800 members of Unite are being balloted for strike action and action short of a strike,

Defence Support Group workers could decide to down tools later this year in an ongoing row over pay and the potential sale of their section of the department.

DSG, which makes, repairs and maintains military equipment, is currently a branch of the Ministry of Defence, but could potentially be privatised.

The ballot will close on Friday October 3.

Unite national officer for the MOD and government departments Mike McCartney said: "It looks like the DSG will be sold off to the private sector in 2015 and our members want to be able to take with them to their new employer, a decent rate of pay which can be consolidated for pension purposes.

"DSG has a cash mountain of £65 million, which will go back to the Treasury's coffers, once the sale has been completed. The current DSG management can well afford to give a substantial pay rise to the workers who have made DSG such a success story.

"Feelings amongst our members are running high because of the poor one per cent pay offer, as well as the unknown future they face being sold off to the private sector."

The Telford base is currently bidding to become the site of the MOD's logistics hub.

If Telford was chosen as the location for a flagship centre for supplying kit to the Armed Forces, it would see 1,000 local jobs safeguarded and 700 new roles in the supply chain, potentially boosting the borough's economy by£60 million a year.

Wrekin MP Mark Pritchard has hit out at union bosses, saying the ballot is "irresponsible" at such a crucial time for the base.

But Unite representatives have said the strike is a national issue and not solely being taken in Donnington.

Around 300 Unite union members at the Ministry of Defence site in Donnington, Telford, staged a brief walkout in July in support of the union's claim to an eight per cent pay offer.

• See more on this story in Saturday's Shropshire Star