DISCONTENT ON THE SEVERN

The squall blowing up on the Severn Estuary had a familiar air: big civils job, run by Laing, and the subject of a bonus dispute - all very redolent of the unofficial strikes that plagued Sizewell B.

Laing won that battle and was always favourite this time round.

The tactics of both sides were a carbon copy of Sizewell - a 24-hour stoppage by the workforce, met by dismissal notices from the management for breach of contract (and sweetened with the invitation to re-apply for a job).

With a recent crane collapse already contributing roughly a month's delay on part of the site, the pressure was on the management to maintain productivity, bearing in mind the Laing-GTM jv has to pick up the tab for project delays on the œ300 million scheme. As the experiences of Eurotunnel illustrate, any delay to the revenue stream can be a serious business.

However, this was the only trump card in the unions' hand.

Back in 1989, the strike at Sizewell collapsed like a pack of cards, despite Ucatt's argument that 'there's a lot of work about and wages at Sizewell don't measure up'. Having been defeated in the boom, it was unrealistic to expect victory in recession, with few jobs about and (as yet) hardly any paying better money.

One has to have sympathy with the workers, though. The complaint that they face difficult conditions, sometimes working thigh deep in water, for a minimum weekly wage little more than œ220, cannot easily be brushed aside. But it must be remembered that the Severn Bridge was won on a tight bid at a time of deep recession, when job losses were heavy and company profitability appalling.

At the same time bricklayers and labourers were taking work, however reluctantly, at œ20 a day.