Summer strike to cripple sites across the UK

Steel erectors, plumbers and welders look set to vote for a national strike as ballot papers go out to 20,000 homes later this month.

Industry experts believe the country's engineering construction workers will vote to down tools this summer following a row over pay and the increasing use of cheap foreign labour.

The ballot follows a breakdown in talks between the unions and employers over renewing the Naeci 'Blue Book' agreement, which has dictated terms and conditions in the industry since 1981.

Employers at the Engineering Construction Industry Association have turned down union demands for a pay increase and assurances that UK workers will not be replaced with cheaper foreign labour.

One industry source said: "The foreign labour question has really united the industry. You could see how angry people were about employers bringing in cheap foreign workers during the demonstrations earlier this year."

Workers launched a series of protests in February at power stations in Staythorpe, Grain and Lindsey after accusing the owners of employing foreign workers at rates below the Naeci agreement.

Unite national secretary Bob Blackman said: "We have always had migrant workers in the industry but where it used to be a case of 'as well', it is now a case of 'instead of'.

"Most power stations are now foreign-owned and they want to bring in workers from abroad at rates lower than the Naeci agreement.

"We cannot allow that to happen or the agreement will become meaningless."

Union leaders have told the employers they will not resume talks until they budge on the key issues. The ECIA declined to comment.

The news has led to fears that any strike action could cripple engineering construction sites and major jobs like the Olympics involving a lot of steelwork.

But an Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) spokesman said: "There are very positive relations with construction unions on the Olympic Park site and this particular issue would not impact on the site, which currently has no work covered by NAECI."

The unions are currently compiling a register of workers with ballot papers due to be sent out in two weeks time and a result due in July.