Industrial action will not lead to power cuts, Drax insists

Unite has announced nine strike days, starting on 20 and 27 February and continuing through March into April.

Members voted in favour of industrial action after rejecting an 8% pay offer. The union argued that with inflation at record highs, the offer represented a real terms pay cut.

London-listed Drax can generate around 7% of the UK’s electricity when fully operational, and Unite warned on Wednesday that industrial action would "close Drax down", leading to possible power cuts.

Regional officer Shane Sweeting said: "The strike action at Drax will inevitably cause considerable strain on the National Grid, but this dispute is completely of the company’s own making."

However, Drax insisted the electricity supply would not be affected. A spokesperson told Reuters: "In the event of industrial action, Drax has robust plans in place to ensure the power station continues to safely generate renewable electricity for millions of homes and businesses."

Unite represents around half of Drax’s 471 production staff, the firm added.