Tower crane operator HTC Wolffkran has expressed its disappointment at Unite鈥檚 decision to ballot its union members on strike action following the suspension of pay talks.
However, Unite said that it only began balloting for strike action after the company broke off negotiations and the company鈥檚 director and general manager Dave Holder, rejected a private meeting.
Unite says that the management of HTC Wolffkran is unnecessarily increasing industrial tensions and has distorted the information concerning the ongoing pay dispute.
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The company says acceptance of its most recent offer would mean its 260 crane operators would have received pay increases totalling 19.8% over the last five years.
Unite said that this fails to mention that these increase only returned workers to the level of pay they received prior to the recession in 2008, with the workforce experiencing pay cuts between 2008-2010. Jerry Swain, Unite national officer for construction, said: 鈥淚t is disingenuous to claim workers have received substantial pay rises in recent years when in reality the company was simply returning money that they had cut from workers鈥� pay.鈥�
Dave Holder, HTC Wolffkran鈥檚 director general manager, said: 鈥淒espite the economic uncertainties of recent years, we have enjoyed high utilisation and rental rates, which have allowed us to perform well. This performance has been reflected in the level of remuneration we have passed on to our tower crane operators, whose pay has increased by an average of 拢7,689.22 since 2013. At the same time, agreed pay awards have also led to a decrease in the average number of hours worked per week.鈥� The package for tower crane operators equates to an average of 拢60,000 per annum, said the company.
Swain said: 鈥淗TC Wolffkran is correct to claim that some crane drivers earn 拢60,000, however they fail to mention how many hours a week a crane driver would have to work in order to make that kind of money. Also the company doesn鈥檛 address the physical and mental demands placed on a worker operating in a highly stressful and safety critical environment for such a long period."
The company鈥檚 offer to its tower crane operators for 2017, which it implemented on 1 June comprised a 3% increase in all hourly rates, a 33% increase in the apprenticeship rate, a day of additional paid annual leave (29 days from January 2018) and an option to take the three-day Christmas shutdown as unpaid leave. A pay award for 2018 was also tabled at the same time, which was for a 3% increase in all hourly rates and a day of additional paid annual leave (30 days from January 2019). HTC Wolffkran said that it also made a bonus payment to every employee in December 2016, which equated to about 2.15% of average pay.
Holder added: 鈥淚ndustry commentators have said that our pay award for 2017/18 is not just the best in the tower crane rental sector, but one of the best in UK industry this year. Therefore, to have it rejected, and be informed by Unite that its members want a 10 per cent increase is both disappointing and more than a little surprising.鈥�
Swain said: 鈥淚n order to make real progress HTC Wolffkran need to have a better understanding of how industrial negotiations operate. Our pay claim is based on what we believe the company could and should pay. However we fully understand that to reach an agreement all sides have to find common ground which can only be achieved through talks. By breaking off negotiations and then imposing a pay increase without agreement HTC Wolffkran has either by accident or design created this dispute.鈥�
The prospect of strike action is hampering performance, said Holder. 鈥淲e have lost two significant contracts from longstanding customers as a result of it, and I can only imagine what the impact would be should the threat of a strike become a reality and we find ourselves unable to fulfil contractual obligations.鈥�
Unite said that it remains committed to seeking a negotiated settlement and is firmly of the belief that if HTC Wolffkran is prepared to sit down and enter into meaningful talks, strikes can be avoided.
Unite鈥檚 strike ballot closes on Friday 4 August.
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