QINETIQ has responded to the announcement that Malvern employees have voted to take industrial action over a pay freeze for 2009.
The defence company said just over half of the ballot papers were returned by Prospect's 1,945 members.
Their statement said: "Reacting to the news that 835 QinetiQ employees, who form part of the 1,945 Prospect members balloted, voted in favour of strike action on the back of the company's announcement relating to pay, QinetiQ CEO Graham Love said: "We are continuing to seek a meeting with the Trades Unions with a view to resolving this matter. Unfortunately so far these requests have not been taken up by Prospect on behalf of their members.
"Our decision not to award a blanket inflationary annual pay increase is the right one in the current economic circumstances. As announced at our preliminary results just last week, overall our UK business failed to grow last year."
835 members of the trade union Prospect voted in favour of strike action out of the 1,945 Prospect members balloted and a total UK workforce of close to 8,000.
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