HTC crane ops vote for industrial action

29 October 2014

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UCATT crane operators at UK tower crane hire firm HTC have voted 'overwhelmingly' in favour of industrial action, in a ballot held on 27 October. The union says activists will discuss this week the form the action will take, and said that "there is no doubt that within days key construction sites will grind to a halt".

UCATT polled 180 operators at HTC. It says 94% were in favour of strike action, with 94.6% in favour of industrial action short of strike action.

The union says, "Since 2008 crane drivers at HTC have experienced several pay freezes and have seen their pay plummet in real terms. UCATT had entered negotiations with HTC but the company failed to table an offer which was even close to the expectations of UCATT members.

"HTC then inflamed the situation by imposing a 3% pay increase, after this offer had been decisively rejected by UCATT members."

Cranes Today spoke to HTC managing director Dave Holder in the run-up to the ballot. Holder says the offer reflects the state of the market: "It is simply untrue to suggest pay levels are below 2008 figures. Any operator who joined HTC after 2011 has enjoyed year on year, above-inflation pay increases. Whilst our utilisation is currently very healthy, our revenues are some considerable way from where we would like them to be."

The impact of the industrial action will ultimately come down to the impact it has on site owners.

UCATT says it can shut down sites across London and the UK, saying tha= sites that are set to be affected will include Crossrail, the London Bridge redevelopment, Nova Square Victoria, Elephant and Castle redevelopment and the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermarston. Major construction contractors who will be affected by the industrial action include: Kier, Lend Lease, BAM, Costain, Mace and Vinci.

A spokesperson for Crossrail disputed the likely impact on the project, saying "Proposed strike action by crane drivers employed by HTC Plant Ltd. is not expected to have any impact on Crossrail's construction as HTC's presence on the Crossrail project is currently limited."

HTC cranes at work on the London Bridge station redevelopment project