National Grid ends lengthy dispute with US unions
National Grid has struck a deal with unions to end a longrunning dispute at its US business.
Shares in the FTSE 100 energy giant rose one per cent this morning after the company announced its agreement with Massachusetts Gas unions over employment terms and conditions.
It said the agreement is for a five-and-a-half-year contract covering 1,250 employees.
National Grid said employees, who have been locked out for six months, will return to work on 21 January.
The lockout cost National Grid up to £1m per day, with its half year results revealing that it led to costs of £97m for the three months to 30 September.
The dispute centred on a wrangle over wages and benefits including pensions, health insurance life insurance and sick pay.
The new contract includes pension increases for current employees, wage increases, defers full implementation of health insurance cost-sharing and offers new hires better benefits than National Grid had initially offered, covering areas such as retirement health benefits, sick leave and life insurance.
President of National Grid in Massachusetts Marcy Reed said: “We recognise that our labour dispute has been challenging for our employees, our customers, and our communities.
“Now that we have been able to move beyond our past challenges to reach an agreement that works for both sides, we are looking forward to our union employees’ return to work.”
Reed added: “We made the progress we had set out to make on healthcare and transitioning new hires to 401(k) plans. In return, we agreed on a number of issues that were important to the unions.”
In a joint statement US unions leaders John Buonopane, the president of USW Local 12012, and John Kirylo, president of USW Local 12003, said: "This contract provides a significant wage increase and a number of other crucial protections for workers. Just as important, the agreement safeguards the future workforce and includes a number of provisions that will enhance the safety of out communities – including the creation of dozens of public-safety related jobs."
And added: "We are very proud of our members who stood together over the past six months. National Grid's decision to lock out 1,250 of its most experienced employees last June caused significant hardship for so many residents, businesses and communities through Massachusetts.”