About 50 workers at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution are balloting for strike action after the charity refused to recognise the union Unite.
Staff at the RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat Centre on the Isle of Wight will be balloted between 22 June and 6 July.
The RNLI announced last month that it would close its ILC in East Cowes by 2028 and move production of its inshore lifeboats to its All-Weather Lifeboat Centre in Poole, Dorset.
Unite said the RNLI was refusing to negotiate redundancy terms for its workforce and Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said the charity had acted “disgracefully” towards the union’s members.
In January, Unite said it started the formal legal process to recognise the union by going through the Central Arbitration Committee to ask for statutory recognition.
“The CAC [has] just completed its membership checks which demonstrates a clear desire by the majority of workers to have the union negotiate on their behalf. However, the RNLI is still refusing to allow Unite recognition,” the union said.
Graham said the RNLI must “stop ignoring its workers’ wishes for recognition and collective bargaining”.
She said: “Our members at the RNLI have Unite’s full support in this fight to have their voices heard.”
Ross Barraclough, chief engineer and technical director at the RNLI, said the charity was disappointed to hear of the ballot plans but said the wellbeing of RNLI staff had been the “heart of our approach from the very beginning”.
Barraclough said: “Unite’s statement misrepresents and does not accurately reflect the extensive engagement and the sincere efforts that have been made to support our colleagues throughout this period of change.
“Our priority continues to be focused on listening to our employees and working closely with their representatives to shape and, where appropriate, enhance the support available to them.”
The RNLI’s “firm commitment” to staff support was reflected in the “comprehensive transitional support plan” the charity has developed through formal consultation, regular employee forum meetings, drop-in sessions and one-to-one conversations, Barraclough said.
Barraclough said the ILC’s employee representatives and Unite were “very much aware” that the RNLI was fully supportive of the statutory recognition process being managed by the CAC.
“This was discussed with them as recently as last week,” Barraclough said.
“We await the CAC’s decision to grant Unite collective bargaining status; we understand that the CAC has requested additional information before doing so.”