“Construction chaos” on the cards as crane workers prepare for strike

Union Unite is predicting “construction chaos” as workers are balloted for strike action at crane company, HTC Wolffkran, which is behind major developments including the Sheffield Retail Quarter.

The European group, which has offices in Sheffield and London, is facing a strike from Unite workers in a dispute over pay.

Unite said that it made the “regrettable decision” to ballot its members for strike action after the company, which is also working on projects at Greenwich Peninsula, Elephant and Castle and the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, refused to hold talks about pay.

If approved by the time the ballot closes on Monday 4 August, workers will begin strikes later this summer.

Previous pay talks collapsed when the company refused to increase their pay offer beyond 3% with a commitment of bringing holidays in line with industry minimums.

Unite said that members are increasingly unhappy that their pay has not recovered in real terms compared to what workers were receiving in 2008.

If strike action goes ahead it will severely affect major contractors and construction projects in London, Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester and Leeds.

Jerry Swain Unite’s acting national officer for construction said: “This strike ballot is taken very much as a last resort and is entirely a result of HTC Wolffkran failing to put forward a pay offer that meets our members’ expectations and its refusal to return to the negotiating table.

“The ball remains in HTC Wolffkran’s court if it wants to avoid strike action it needs to re-open negotiations and table a realistic pay offer.

“Without an improved offer contractors need to brace themselves for major disruption as sites grind to a halt and projects are delayed.”