Employees of defence company, QinetiQ, & members of Prospect union are to vote whether to take strike action against the company (Image: MoD)

Prospect, the largest professional engineers union, has announced QinetiQ employees will vote on strike action following the company’s announcement that it would freeze staff salaries but still pay bonuses to senior managers and directors.

If the majority of the 2,000 QinetiQ members vote in favour of industrial or strike action, unions will be able to put pressure on the company to reverse its pay decision.

David Luxton, Prospect’s National Secretary, said: “QinetiQ’s justification for the pay freeze does not hold up to close scrutiny. It continues to be a highly profitable company both internationally and in the UK with a ‘backlog’ of secured work worth £5.4 billion.

“The chief executive, Graham Love has confirmed that bonus entitlements will continue this year – bonus entitlements that only apply to directors and senior managers. If they are to be rewarded for performance for the previous twelve months, then why should the same principle not apply to all QinetiQ employees? He has questioned the ‘routine’ of an annual pay round, yet does not question the ‘routine’ of bonus entitlements for those at the top of the company.”

QinetiQ is a leading international defence and security technology company, and employs more than 14,000 people worldwide. Its global revenue to year end 31 March 2008 was £1.4 million, and it will announce its 2009 Q1 preliminary financial results on 21 May.