Scaffolders working at power station set to go on strike

Member of the trade union Unite working at North Yorkshire’s Drax Power Station are to take strike action in a dispute over the recognition of national agreements.

The 29 workers are employed by Altrad-Hertel at the power station. Unite said the company was refusing to register the scaffolders under the relevant industrial agreement – the National Agreement for the Electrical Construction Industry (NAECI). Most construction workers on the site work under the NAECI agreement.

Unite has called two 24-hour strikes, the first beginning at 6am on Thursday 5 September, with a further strike beginning at the same time on Thursday 12 September. Continuous strike action is then scheduled to begin on Wednesday 18 September at 6am.

Workers will be picketing all entrances to the power station. The strikes will occur during scheduled maintenance work on Drax.

Unite said it had exhausted all grievance procedures in an attempt to get Altrad-Hertel to agree to abide by the NAECI agreement, before moving to an industrial action ballot.

The union argues that agreeing to abide by the NAECI agreement would cost Altrad-Hertel very little money. Unite says the principal difference would be that if a worker is dismissed or demoted, they can appeal to an independent panel comprising an equal number of trade union and employer representatives.

Unite regional officer Chris Weldon said: “The strikes are set to cause a great deal of disruption at Drax. They are entirely of Altrad-Hertel’s own making, as the company has failed to act reasonably. The vast majority of construction workers at Drax work under the auspices of the NAECI agreement and there is no good reason why scaffolders should be treated any differently.

“Our members feel very strongly about this issue and they have voted for strike action as a last resort. Even though strike action has been announced it is not too late for the dispute to be resolved.

“Altrad-Hertel simply needs to enter into negotiations and agree to employ the scaffolders under the NAECI agreement.”

A Drax spokesman responded: “We are confident that Drax Power Station will not be impacted – it will continue to generate the renewable electricity relied upon by millions of homes and businesses.”

Altrad-Hertel has also been approached for comment.

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