Lighthouse workers to be balloted

Lighthouse workers will be balloted on strike action, in a historic first for the sector.

Unite the Union has confirmed its members employed by the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) will take part in a ballot opening today (Tuesday).

Staff on the NLB maintain and operate lighthouses, beacons and buoys at sea.

Around 30 Unite members, including able seamen, base assistants, cooks and technicians, will take part in the ballot between now and 24th April.

Unite has pointed to a two per cent offer from the NLB following a pay freeze last year – which, it says, amounts to a substantial real terms pay cut over two years.

The broader cost of living (RPI) currently stands at 13.8 per cent. The NLB, similarly to Marine Scotland and Highlands and Islands Airport Limited, claim that it is bound by the Scottish government’s public pay policy.

Both these disputes were settled above the official pay figure.

The NLB main office is based in Edinburgh with technical operations being carried out in Oban. But technicians are also based in Shetland, as well as in Inverness and Orkney.