MINISTRY of Defence vehicle repair staff have taken further strike action over a long-running pay wrangle.

Workers at Defence Support Group (DSG), in Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, started a four day walk-out today (Monday, November 17).

Unite union says staff, who have rejected a one per cent pay increase, have been betrayed by management.

The Government revealed plans to sell DSG to cut its defence budget as part of the 2010 Strategic Defence Review, and Unite say if the deal goes through, workers should be allowed to benefit, having previously pushed for an eight per cent pay rise.

However, DSG told The Northern Echo it was restricted to any offer, owing to its position within the Ministry of Defence.

The company repairs, maintains and overhauls various military vehicles, including Land Rovers and heavy duty trucks, many of which have returned from Afghanistan.

The four-day action follows 24-hour protests across other DSG UK sites in Dorset, Colchester, Donnington, Warminster and Stirling, where staff are also out again.

Hundreds of the firm’s 2,400 nationwide workforce are understood to be taking part, including a number of its near 100-strong workforce at Catterick Garrison, where it has a workshop.

Mike McCartney, Unite’s national officer for the Ministry of Defence, said: “Feelings are running high not just because of the insulting pay offer, but because of the uncertain future they face of being sold off to the private sector.

“With the sale of DSG to the private sector looming, our members want to take a decent rate of pay, which can be consolidated for pension purposes to their new employer.

“The one per cent on offer is a real terms pay cut and for many workers feels like a final act of betrayal.

“The DSG management can afford to give a decent pay rise to the workers who have made the firm such a success story in supporting our armed forces.

“It’s time management got back around the table and negotiated a meaningful settlement.”

However, a DSG spokesman reiterated the firm’s stance, highlighting its position as a government trading fund owned by the Ministry of Defence, which means any offers are limited.

He added: “It is the same as it has been; we are part of the Ministry of Defence and therefore restricted to what we can offer.

“The one per cent is on the table for every civil servant and the workers are no different, though the unions think they should be an exception.”