Shipyard workers agree pay action

Workers say others at similar shipyards earn more than them

Workers at Appledore Shipyard in north Devon have voted to take industrial action over pay.

GMB union members say they want the same money as workers at other Babcock International-owned yards involved in Britain's new aircraft carriers.

The Appledore yard is earmarked to help build hull sections for two of the UK's next generation of aircraft carriers.

Appledore's owners say strike action could mean work being reassigned to their other yards instead.

The vessels, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy, nearly three times the size of the current Invincible-class carriers.

They are expected to be completed between 2014 and 2016.

Babcock, which is part of the UK Aircraft Carrier Alliance, secured the deal for the carriers in July 2007.

The Appledore work came out of Babcock's takeover of the Devonport yard in Plymouth in June 2007 from previous owner DML.

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