NUCLEAR workers who are members of the Prospect trade union have accepted an offer in a long-running pension dispute.

This includes staff at Sellafield, the Low Level Waste Repository in Drigg, International Nuclear Services in Moor Row, Direct Rail Services in Carlisle and the UK's Magnox sites, including Chapelcross in Dumfries and Galloway.

The offer was the outcome of negotiations earlier this year and about 11,000 people employed across the nuclear estate will move from their current final salary pension scheme to a career average scheme from April 2018.

Prospect specialists and managers represented the largest group of affected nuclear clean-up workers. More than 77 per cent of members eligible to vote in the ballot, which ended on 24 May, backed the revised proposals, on a turnout of 67 per cent.

Dai Hudd, Prospect's deputy general secretary, said: “The changes accepted in the ballot still contain detriment, though they are not as bad as those originally proposed. And for many, they also open up opportunities and flexibility.

“The high turnout – a bigger proportion than those who voted in the last general election – demonstrates our members’ strength of feeling about their pensions and security in retirement.

“But the result doesn’t mean they are happy with the reforms. The alternative they faced was to take industrial action, with the risk having a far worse offer imposed on them. Members clearly recognised that the offer was the best achievable by negotiation.”

He added: “The outcome shows the difference that being in a trade union and having an effective collective voice can make when it comes to protecting terms and conditions.

“But even the revised reforms contravene explicit protections promised by the government, and enshrined in legislation, when the nuclear industry was privatised.

“This was, and is, a disgraceful way to treat dedicated employees who have done everything required of them and only wanted the government to honour its commitments.

“However, in the light of the general election, it was important to settle this issue and achieve certainty for members before a new government is in place.”

These changes were secured by campaigning by Prospect, Unite, GMB and Aslef.

The projected cost to members overall has been reduced from £660m to about £300m. The unions also secured separate guarantees relating to the treatment of future redundancy terms.