Hundreds of crane drivers from the UCATT construction union picketed building sites in London and around the country this morning in a dispute over pay with HTC Plant Limited. Workers had voted 94% in favour of strike action and 94.6% in favour of industrial action short of strike action. The turnout was in excess of 80%. There was a mass picket outside the Nova Square site in Victoria which saw concrete drivers refusing to cross picket lines.
Drivers are furious that after years of pay freezes and even wage cuts, they have only been offered 3% when the all the talk is of a recovery and in London in particular it seems that the industry is booming. Workers have had enough of paying the price and now want their share. One worker said, “We haven’t had a rise for years. We’ll keep taking action until we get one.” UCATT has given notice of further strikes on the next two Fridays.
Workers saw the brother of the company director keeping an eye on the Victoria picket line. They gave him a wave with the clear message to take back to managment that it’s time to pay up!
Further info on the dispute can be found at the following websites:
http://www.ucatt.org.uk/htc-crane-strike
http://www.ucatt.org.uk/ucatt-warns-employers-use-dangerous-and-illegal-agency-crane-drivers
http://www.ucatt.org.uk/construction-sites-set-shutdown-friday-crane-drivers-begin-strike-action
