Some £200 billion in gold bars will be left ‘vulnerable’ when security guards go on strike amidst a row over pay, union bosses have warned.
Around 40 security guards represented by union Unite are set to walk out next month, leaving the Bank of England ‘at risk’.
The guards, who help keep the bank’s 400,000 gold bars safely under lock and key, will strike for 24 hours from 7am on November 13, the union announced on Wednesday.
The workers, who are responsible for the bank’s perimeter and control room, are all employed by security firm Amulet, which took over the contract from Mitie in February.
Unite bosses said a picket line is planned outside the central bank on London‘s Threadneedle Street.
The Bank of England’s vaults hold gold reserves worth more than £200bn, making it the second largest repository of ingots in the world behind the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The row came after the Bank of England refused to give the workers a pay rise this year, the union said.
Strike action at the bank is very rare. In 2017, support staff downed tools for three days in the first walkout for 50 years.
The guards, who help keep the bank’s 400,000 gold bars safely under lock and key, will strike for 24 hours from 7am on November 13
Around 40 security guards represented by union Unite are set to walk out next month, leaving the Bank of England (pictured) ‘at risk’
The announcement comes days after a major heist at the Louvre museum in Paris, which saw a gang of thieves steal ‘priceless’ crown jewels estimated to be worth £100 million.
Keith Henderson, a regional officer at Unite, said: ‘This will be a very disruptive strike that puts the Bank of England at risk; however, our members believe they have no choice but to take action.
‘Hard-working security staff who do unsociable hours and look after a very important building deserve better.
‘There is still time for the Bank of England and Amulet to stop this action, but it requires them to come back to the table with a fair pay offer.’
Unite said the industrial action comes after bank bosses spent seven months ‘stringing workers along’ before finally informing them they would not see a pay rise this year.
The union argued that this represented a ‘substantial’ real-terms pay cut, given inflation is running at almost twice the Bank’s own two percent target.
Unite said it was previously able to negotiate pay directly, but that Amulet said it was unable to provide pay rises and that any increase would have to be funded by the Bank.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said: ‘It is a complete disgrace that it has taken Amulet and the Bank of England months to come back to our members, only to tell them they will not be getting any pay increase.
‘The Bank of England can more than afford to pay these workers, who do a vital job protecting its assets. Our members will have our full support every step of the way in their fight for the decent pay rise they deserve.’
A Bank of England spokesman said: ‘We have full confidence in our ability to maintain the security of the Bank and we have robust plans in place to mitigate any possible disruption.
‘We expect our contractors to maintain the service to which they are legally committed and will take appropriate action if they do not.’
