Dounreay treating lower paid staff unfairly, claims employee
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Dounreay is treating its lower paid staff unfairly and "doing nothing" about their concerns on pay, pensions and bonuses, according to an employee.
However, a spokeswoman at the site said all staff are valued as "they are our greatest asset".
The person, who has been in regular contact with the John O'Groat Journal over a number of weeks and wants to remain anonymous, claims the issues have been raised with unions but are being ignored by management.
She said: "At Dounreay, like many other government-led establishments, the rich get richer but the lowest grades are expected to be thankful for what crumbs they receive. Everything has a bias towards the higher paid.
"To highlight this, cost of living increases and the company bonus scheme are percentage based, therefore the higher graded employees always get the biggest slice of the cake – the more you earn the more you receive. This is discrimination at its best.
"The company does not look after the entire workforce, just those at certain grades. We hear a lot about ‘Dignity at Work’ along with ‘One Dounreay’ where everyone is treated fairly and with respect – obviously this does not apply to the lower grades.
"How can Dounreay preach fairness and equality and not tackle something they know to be discriminatory," said the employee, who claimed many lower paid staff are unhappy with the situation.
She also hit out at the way management deal with pensions and said there is "little or no information available" for people about to retire.
"It can take months to get responses to queries. Several people who retired recently are still awaiting the money due to them from their pension schemes – why? The whole system is a shambles and lacks managerial guidance and interest. People are being left on their own," said the employee.
Senior management was made aware of these issues in October last year 2022 but "nothing has been done about it," added the employee.
Willie Swanson of the GMB union at Dounreay said he has been contacted by staff over concerns on pay, pensions and bonuses.
He said: "There has always been an issue regarding pay differentials and how this widens with percentage pay increases, and the company bonus has again been an issue for the lower grades for years.
"Although we work to a common set of targets, the final reward – given as a percentage figure – is paid against an individual’s salary so the higher the salary, the higher the payment is."
On pensions, Mr Swanson said: "Several individuals have expressed concern over how long the process takes, the lack of information available to them to complete forms, and subsequent delays in receiving payments."
These issues were raised with the Trade Union Co-ordinating Committee (TUCC), which involves representatives of the main unions at Dounreay, and with senior management.
The concerns were mentioned verbally and in writing to managers but there has been "no response to date," added Mr Swanson.
Niall Watson, the chairman of the TUCC, said: "The key priority for the Dounreay unions currently is seeking to secure a fair pay increase for all our members, with a particular focus on helping those in lower salary scales who we recognise are likely to be experiencing the cost-of-living crisis more acutely. A key aspect of our role as unions is to look out for the interests of all members, irrespective of grade."
A Dounreay spokeswoman said: "We value all our staff, as they are our greatest asset. Without them we would not be able to continue our mission, to decommission the site.
"We are actively in discussion with the unions over the latest pay settlement. We will continue to focus on improving pay and reward equity, as we have done for the last few years."
