Emergency gas workers to strike over “clear danger” to public in working conditions

GMB Union says long hours for gas workers could leave staff “so fatigued that they make a mistake”

Northern Gas Network accuses GMB Union of “unsustainable proposals” (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Hundreds of gas emergency workers in England have voted to strike due to working conditions which pose a “serious health risk to the public”.

Almost 750 workers at Northern Gas Networks (NGN) are set to walk out due to long hours and fatigue, saying they are made to fix gas leaks across the north of England “around the clock”.

GMB Union says long hours pose a “clear danger” to the public because staff are working with “flammable, toxic gas leaks”.

Andrew Aldwinkle, GMB Organiser, said bosses at NGN “don’t care” that their staff may be “so fatigued that they make a mistake”.

GMB Union says fatigued workers pose a danger to the general public (PA Archive)

NGN – which serves Yorkshire, the North East and northern Cumbria – is also accused of failing to provide workers with sick pay if they have Covid – a claim the company denies.

The union says workers have attempted to bring these issues to the management but that their grievances have fallen on “deaf ears”.

The ballot saw 74 per cent of votes cast – 299 of 402 – supported the action.

Strike dates are yet to be announced, but the union warns that industrial action may cause major disruption if gas leaks are left unfixed.

Mr Aldwinkle said: “Emergency gas engineers do a difficult, dangerous job with toxic, flammable gas.

“Do we really want them so fatigued they might make a mistake? Apparently, NGN bosses don’t care.

"The fact they have no sick pay means many feel forced to work, even with Covid and even in places like care homes.

“All these engineers want is reasonable working conditions and to keep the public safe.

“If they don’t get it, we face disruption right across the north of England.”

NGN chief executive Mark Horsley said: “Millions of customers across our region rely on us for heat and power and our focus will remain on this vital role throughout any form of industrial action.

“The GMB’s threat to strike is based on a ballot in which nearly two-thirds of our field workforce chose to either not vote at all or voted against this motion.

“In addition, our colleagues have had an average salary increase of nearly 30 per cent in the past four years – yet the union is still asking for unsustainable proposals which don’t tackle fatigue and would double our annual pay bill.

“At NGN we take the wellbeing of our colleagues incredibly seriously - with an industry-leading position on working time limits – and the average tenure across our business of 10 years reflecting the positive working environment we create.

“We are committed to working with the union to find a way through this dispute, but not at the detriment of our customers or long-term job security.”